Albert Daniel Rutherston, R.W.S. (1881-1953)

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Albert Rutherston was born in 1881, he was the youngest of six children of the artistic and philanthropic Rothenstein family. His parents Moritz and Bertha Rothenstein settled in Manningham Lane, Bradford from North Germany in the 1860s. During the 20th century, the Rothenstein family were highly influential in the world of Modern British Art. Albert’s siblings, Charles Rutherston and Emily Hesslein, both assembled important art collections in their own right. Charles’ collection was donated in his lifetime to the City of Manchester, on the understanding that the works would be lent to local teaching institutions. Another brother was the renowned painter Sir William Rothenstein (see lots 155-161). It has been suggested that Albert’s aspiration to become an artist was perhaps influenced not only by William’s work but also his fashionable London lifestyle. In 1898, at the age of sixteen, Albert followed William to London to study at the Slade School of Fine Art. It was here, where he became acquainted with Augustus John and William Orpen. Together, they were known as the ‘Three Musketeers’. Also, it was about this time that Albert became friends with Walter Sickert during a painting holiday in France. Subsequently, it was Albert introducing Walter Sickert to his friend and Slade colleague, Spencer Gore that led to one of the key relationships of the Camden Town Group. Although Albert never became a member of the Camden Town Group, he developed his own distinct oeuvre. In the early 1900s he favoured depictions of working women, as represented in the following lots. This early stage in his career saw Albert produce a number of promising and inspiring works most notably the Tate’s Laundry Girls of 1906. This series of working women (see lot 136), has been described by Max Rutherston as not attempting to prettify the ruddy faces of the models (M. Rutherston, Albert Rutherston, London, 1988, p. 5.). It has been suggested that Albert’s technique within these early years in somewhat similar to the work of his brother William. It was not until 1910, following a nervous breakdown, that Albert’s oeuvre shifted to primarily using watercolour as a medium. After a trip to Grasse in 1910, Albert produced a series of watercolours of the southern French landscape. The majority of these watercolours were on silk and were shown at a seminal one-man show at the Carfax Gallery, London in October of the same year. The style of these works illustrate a world that could perhaps be considered to be more fantasy than reality. This can be seen in the decorative panel for a mirror (lot 140) and the dreamlike composition of ‘Romance’ (146). The less successful collaboration with Duncan Grant, Frederick Etchells, Bernard Adeney and Macdonald Gill to decorate the dining room of the Borough Polytechnic in South London, led to more promising commercial commissions in costume design. Albert worked with Harley Granville-Barker on his productions of A Winter’s Tale, Androcles and the Lion and Jennifer’s costume in Shaw’s, The Doctor’s Dilemma (lot 144).Albert changed his surname from Rothenstein to Rutherston in 1916, echoing the patriotism of the House of Windsor. After marrying the actress Marjorie Holman in 1919, he turned to teaching to earn a living. Initially, Albert taught at Camberwell School of Art and then as director of Oxford School of Painting and Drawing, and was elected Ruskin Master of Drawing until his retirement in 1949. In 1938, Albert was introduced to the student Patricia Koring, who became his muse for many of his later works. Over the course of his lifetime, Albert had nine one-man exhibitions, of which four were with the Leicester Galleries and he was elected A.R.W.S. in 1934 and R.W.S. in 1942. William's son and Albert's nephew, Sir John Rothenstein (1901–1992) went on to become an influencial director of the Tate Gallery, holding the position between 1938 and 1964.

Albert Daniel Rutherston, R.W.S. (1881-1953)

The pink scarf (i); and The white scarf (ii)

Details

Albert Daniel Rutherston, R.W.S. (1881-1953)
The pink scarf (i); and The white scarf (ii)
signed 'Albert R' (lower left) (i)
oil on canvas laid down on board (i)
oil on panel (ii)
24 x 18 in. (61 x 45.8 cm.) (i)
14 x 10 ¼ in. (35.6 x 26.1 cm.) (ii)
(2)

Special notice

Artist's Resale Right ("Droit de Suite"). Artist's Resale Right Regulations 2006 apply to this lot, the buyer agrees to pay us an amount equal to the resale royalty provided for in those Regulations, and we undertake to the buyer to pay such amount to the artist's collection agent.

Conditions of sale

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