Arthur John Elsley (British, 1861-1952)

Little Bo Peep

Details

Arthur John Elsley (British, 1861-1952)
Little Bo Peep
signed and dated 'Arthur J. Elsley/1900' (lower left)
oil on canvas
32 x 22½ in. (81.3 x 57.1 cm.)
Painted in 1900

Provenance

Acquired by Joseph Bibby from the 1900 exhibition.

Literature

Bibby's Quarterly - Literary Supplement, vol. 4, no. 1, Spring 1901 (illustrated in colour p. 1).
T. Parker, Golden Hours - The Paintings of Arthur J. Elsley 1860-1952, Shepton Beauchamp, 1998, p. 45 (illustrated in colour p. 66).

Exhibited

Liverpool, Walker Art Gallery, Autumn Exhibition, 1900, no. 209 (100 gns.).

Lot Essay

In his monograph on the works of Arthur Elsley, Terry Parker writes regarding the present work: 'This was the first of four paintings bought by Joseph Bibby, the proprietor of Bibby's Animal Foods based in Liverpool. His company published Bibby's Quarterly and Bibby's Annual. Like Barratt at Pears and Joseph Beecham, founder of the pharmaceutical company, he wanted to share his love of art with the masses, but he combined this with his own quasi-religious message' (Parker, loc. cit.).

We are grateful to Terry Parker for his assistance in preparing this catalogue entry.

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