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Lot Essay
William Webbe is best known for highly detailed works in the Pre-Raphaelite manner. Although obviously a talented artist, Webbe is a mysterious figure in the Pre-Raphaelite circle. Neither the dates of his birth and death nor even the spelling of his name is certain, 'Webb' and 'Webbe' both occurring in early records and signed works. He made his debut at the Royal Academy in 1853 and is said to have received his artistic training in Düsseldorf, an experience which must have laid him open to the influence of the Nazarenes. Unsurprisingly for an artist trained in the Nazarene tradition, Webbe was an early convert to Pre-Raphaelitism. The Pre-Raphaelite painter to whom Webbe was most indebted was William Holman Hunt and his studies of sheep suggest that he was deeply impressed by Hunt's moralizing paintings on this theme. In 1862 Webbe paid a visit to Jerusalem and the Holy Land, presumably inspired by the one that Hunt made in 1854-1856 and the works which had resulted from it, The Scapegoat (Port Sunlight), exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1856 and The Finding of the Saviour in the Temple (Birmingham). It is not known how long Webbe stayed in the East, or whether he made more than one journey.
He exhibited his first Eastern subject A Shepherd of Jerusalem, at the Royal Academy in 1863 and sent them regularly until 1870, when he showed The Rain Cloud, Palestine. Images of sheep and shepherding continued to dominate these works. Webbe continued to exhibit at the Royal Academy until 1878 while also supporting the British Institution and the Society of British Artists in Suffolk Street, after 1878 he drops from the records but it is unknown if he died or just ceased to exhibit.
He exhibited at the Royal Academy from the John Street, Devonshire Hill address from 1870 -1872.The present drawing is a smaller version of the composition painted in oil and dated 1864, which was sold in these Rooms 13 December 2017 lot 25 and differs slightly in the disposition of the sheep.
Webbe leapt to fame in December 2013 when Christie’s sold The White Owl for a record price of £589,250.
He exhibited his first Eastern subject A Shepherd of Jerusalem, at the Royal Academy in 1863 and sent them regularly until 1870, when he showed The Rain Cloud, Palestine. Images of sheep and shepherding continued to dominate these works. Webbe continued to exhibit at the Royal Academy until 1878 while also supporting the British Institution and the Society of British Artists in Suffolk Street, after 1878 he drops from the records but it is unknown if he died or just ceased to exhibit.
He exhibited at the Royal Academy from the John Street, Devonshire Hill address from 1870 -1872.The present drawing is a smaller version of the composition painted in oil and dated 1864, which was sold in these Rooms 13 December 2017 lot 25 and differs slightly in the disposition of the sheep.
Webbe leapt to fame in December 2013 when Christie’s sold The White Owl for a record price of £589,250.