John Byam Liston Shaw, A.R.W.S. (1872-1919)

'As it happeneth to the fool'

Details

John Byam Liston Shaw, A.R.W.S. (1872-1919)
'As it happeneth to the fool'
signed and dated 'BYAM. SHAW/1901' (lower right, in a cartouche) and inscribed 'As it happeneth to the fool, so it happeneth even to me; and why was I/ then more wise?/ Eccles. II v XV.' (in a predella) and further numbered and inscribed 'No. 20./xx as it happeneth to the/ fool as it happeneth even/ to me + why was I then/ more wise/Ch 2 V 15' (on a label attached to the reverse)
oil on panel
15 ¾ x 11 ¾ in. (40 x 30 cm.)

Provenance

with Dowdeswell Galleries, London, Sermons in Stone and Good in Everything - suggested by the Book of Ecclesiastes, 1902, no. 5.
Anonymous sale; Sotheby's, London, 30 November 2000, lot 499.

Literature

P.G. Konody, 'Byam Shaw's Pictures from the Book of Ecclesiastes', Magazine of Art, 1903, p. 2, illustrated.
R. Vicat Cole, The Art & Life of Byam Shaw, Philadelphia, 1932, p. 122, illustrated.

Exhibited

Oxford, Ashmolean Museum, Byam Shaw 1872-1919, no. 15.

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Lot Essay

One of a series of small paintings based on texts from the Book of Ecclesiastes. The second Chapter develops the theme of the vanity of pleasure, power and achievement and points to the common fate of both the wise man and the fool. The writer concludes that there is nothing in life better than joy in our labours, whatever they may be.

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