An Idyll of Old Chelsea

Details

John Atkinson Grimshaw (1836-1893)
An Idyll of Old Chelsea
signed and dated 'Atkinson Grimshaw/1893' (lower left) and further signed, dated and inscribed 'An Idyll of old Chelsea/Atkinson Grimshaw 1893' (on the reverse)
oil on canvas
17 7/8 x 27 1/8 in. (45.5 x 68.8 cm.)

Provenance

with Alexander Gallery, London, 1976, no. 28.
with Richard Green, London, by 1979.

Exhibited

Leeds, City Art Gallery and Temple Newsam House, Atkinson Grimshaw, 13 October-10 November 1979, no. 58 (lent by Richard Green, London).

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis. This lot is subject to Collection and Storage Charges.

Lot Essay

Chelsea in the 1890s was London's bohemian quarter. Whistler and Rossetti lived here, as did the writers Carlyle and Leigh Hunt. The scene is one of several Grimshaw painted of London streets: views of Hampstead, Piccadilly, Fleet Street, Wimbledon and Barnes are known, as well as other views of Chelsea. The present picture shows the tower of Chelsea Old Church from Cheyne Row, looking westwards along Lordship Place. Young and old are juxtaposed in the figures of the young girl selling flowers and the Chelsea Pensioner. The eighteenth century houses which line the left of the street have now been replaced by a mansion block and The Cross Keys public house can be found at the end of the street. From the 1880s, Grimshaw maintained a studio not far from here in Manresa Road, to the north of the King's Road.

We are grateful to Alexander Robertson, Curator, Leeds City Art Gallery, for his help in the preparation of this catalogue entry.

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