On the river Conway near Bettws-y-Coed

Details

Benjamin Williams Leader, R.A. (1831-1923)
On the river Conway near Bettws-y-Coed
signed and dated 'B.W.LEADER.1899.' (lower left) and further signed and inscribed '...Bettws y Coed B.W. Leader' (on the reverse)
oil on panel
12¾ x 17 in. (32.4 x 43.2 cm.)

Provenance

Purchased from the artist by Wallis, March 1899 (£40).
with Oscar & Peter Johnston, London, 1970.
with W.H. Patterson Fine Art, London, 1990.
Anonymous sale; Sotheby's, New York, 16 July 1992, lot 513.
with Richard Green, London.
with Fine Art of Oakham, Leicestershire.

Literature

The artist's own sale records, 1899.

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 15% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

This view of the Conway dates from the year that Leader moved to Burrow's Cross, in Gomshall, Surrey, from Worcestershire. Although he never journeyed to Wales after 1889, Welsh views played a consistently important part in his oeuvre. When he visited Bettws-y-coed (modern spelling: Betws-y-coed) in the late 1850s it had already been established as a popular destination for landscape artists such as David Cox (1783-1859). The banks of the river Llugwy, Lledr and Conway provided good vantage points from which to survey the valleys and mountains beyond. Leader used sketches from previous decades when working on later compositions such as the present one.

We are grateful to Ruth Wood for her help in preparing this catalogue entry.

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