Briton Riviere, R.A. (1840-1920)
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Briton Riviere, R.A. (1840-1920)

Hawking

Details
Briton Riviere, R.A. (1840-1920)
Hawking
signed with monogram and dated '1900' (lower left) and further signed, inscribed and dated 'The Heron'/Briton Riviere R.A./82 Finchley Road NW/1900' (on an old label attached to the stretcher). With inscription '"Hawking" - by/Briton.Riviere/Given... wedding/present to my daughter Georgina./H.W.B.D' (on an old label attached to the stretcher)
oil on canvas
52½ x 37¼ in. (133.3 x 94.6 cm.)
Provenance
Acquired from the artist by his friend Henry William Banks Davis and thence by descent to the present vendor.
Special notice
No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 15% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

Briton Riviere originally entitled the present picture The Heron but from the moment of its passing into the hands of his friend, the landscape painter, Henry William Banks Davis, it has informally been known as Hawking. Davis subsequently gave the painting to his daughter as a wedding present and it has since passed by descent to the present owner.

Riviere exhibited an almost identical painting, also entitled The Heron, at the Royal Academy in 1900. In the RA exhibit, the gentleman rider is joined by a lady and in this version it is she who is seen releasing the hawk. The Art Journal praised Riviere's unique depicton of the cumulus clouds and described how the sky 'which many regard as a mere accessory in a landscape, guards closely its rhythmic secrets.' (Art Journal, 1900, p. 168).

The painting's popularity at exhibition must have spurred Riviere, known predominantly for his talents as an animal painter, to paint another version. In this second picture, Riviere has placed even more emphasis on the landscape by excluding the female rider and the dog which yaps at the heels of the horses in the RA exhibit. It is particularly interesting that this rare landscape was acquired by Banks Davis, a landscape painter who must have had a particular interest in the genre.

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