Kempsey Church on the River Severn

Details

BENJAMIN WILLIAMS LEADER, R.A. (WORCESTER 1831-1923 SHERE)
Kempsey Church on the River Severn
signed and dated 'B. W. LEADER.1883.' (lower left)
oil on canvas
43 7⁄8 x 72 in. (111.46 x 182.88 cm.)

Provenance

The artist.
Cox, acquired directly from the above, November 1883.
(probably) Edmund Levy.
(probably) His sale; Christie's, London, 20 April 1896, lot 109, as Kempsey Church on the Severn.
(probably) with Agnews, London, acquired at the above sale.
(probably) James Gresham, acquired directly from the above, 26 April 1897.
(probably) His sale; Christie's, London, 12 July 1917, lot 87, as The Evening Hour.
(probably) Michell, acquired at the above sale.
with MacConnal-Mason and Sons, London.
Anonymous sale; Christie's, London, 13 June 2000, lot 86A.
with Richard Green, London.
Acquired directly from the above by the present owner, 12 December 2000.

Conditions of sale

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Lot Essay

The present work depicts the church of St. Mary the Virgin in Kempsey, south of Worcester. There are at least two other paintings by the artist depicting this same view of the River Severn at the crossing point of the Pixham Ferry, looking toward the south. Leader exhibited other river scenes at the Royal Academy in 1883, however he did not choose to exhibit the present picture. In 1889 he returned to the same scene again for another large work entitled Sabrina's Stream (Sabrina being the Roman name given to the River Severn) which was exhibited at the Royal Academy in that year. Leader would return to the subject at least one other time, in a smaller version painted in 1896. Ruth Wood confirmed the authorship of this work when it was sold in 2000.

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