View of Lucerne, Switzerland

Details

DAVID ROBERTS, R.A. (EDINBURGH 1796-1864 LONDON)
View of Lucerne, Switzerland
signed and dated 'David Roberts, 1852' (lower left), and signed, inscribed and dated, 'View of Lucerne, Switzerland To Christine on her Birthday June 4th 1852 By David Roberts RA' (on the reverse) and further indistinctly inscribed (on the reverse)
oil on panel
151/2 x 21 in. (39.4 x 53.4 cm.)

Provenance

Given by the artist to his daughter, Christine Bicknell (1821-1872).
Anonymous sale; Sotheby's, London, 9 July 1997, lot 75, when acquired by the present owner.

Literature

James Ballantine, The Life of David Roberts, R.A., London, 1866, p. 251, no. 175.

Special notice

This lot is offered without reserve. This lot has been imported from outside of the UK for sale and placed under the Temporary Admission regime. Import VAT is payable at 5% on the hammer price. VAT at 20% will be added to the buyer’s premium but will not be shown separately on our invoice.

Conditions of sale

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Lot Essay

In September 1851 Roberts embarked on a tour of Italy with his friend, Edmund Cotterell. They travelled first to Brussels, and thence through Germany to Switzerland. The Alps made a particular impression, and they lingered in Basle and Lucerne where Roberts made a number of sketches. A watercolour of Lucerne with the mountains beyond is inscribed and dated 12 September 1851 (see Helen Guiterman and Briony Llewellyn, David Roberts, 1986, p. 124, no. 202.)

Born in 1821, Christine was David Roberts's only child. The artist gave her many of his paintings, often on her birthday. Other works in her collection included Gibralatar from Ronda, 1853, The Sea of Galilee, 1850, and SS. Giovanni e Paolo, Venice, 1861.

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