John Scarlett Davis (Leominster 1804-1845 London)
VAT rate of 5% is payable on hammer price and at 2… Read more
John Scarlett Davis (Leominster 1804-1845 London)

The Painted Hall, Greenwich

Details
John Scarlett Davis (Leominster 1804-1845 London)
The Painted Hall, Greenwich
signed and dated 'J. Scarlett Davis/1830' (lower right)
pencil and grey-blue wash
14¾ x 16¾ in. (37.5 x 42.5 cm.)
Provenance
(Possibly) John Hinxman (+); Christie's, London, 24 March 1848, lot 59, 60 or 61 (part of).
Newall Collection; Christie's, London, 13 December 1979, lot 31.
with Spink, London.
Literature
G. Watkin Williams, Life and Works of John Scarlett Davis, Old Water-Colour Society's Club, XLV, 1970, p. 17.
Exhibited
Hereford, City Art Gallery, The Works of John Scarlett Davis, 1937, no. 62.
Special notice
VAT rate of 5% is payable on hammer price and at 20% on the buyer's premium.

Brought to you by

Benjamin Peronnet
Benjamin Peronnet

Check the condition report or get in touch for additional information about this

If you wish to view the condition report of this lot, please sign in to your account.

Sign in
View condition report

Lot Essay

In 1830 Davis made a number of sketches at Greenwich. The Painted Hall, now the Old Royal Naval College, was designed by Sir Christopher Wren, and decorated with magnificent trompe l'oeil paintings by Sir James Thornhill (1675-1734) between 1708 and 1727. Three months after the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, Lord Nelson's body was brought to Greenwich to lie in state for three days before being transported to St Paul's Cathedral for a state funeral. Having been intended as a dining hall for the naval pensioners, it was deemed too grand for that purpose and in 1824 became the National Gallery of Naval Art.

The present drawing, depicting a number of pensioners passing through the Hall, is of great historical significance as it shows the Gallery in its early form, with the paintings hung between the pilasters. On either side of the drawing, Davis has faithfully depicted the two paintings that hung in those spaces following their gift (with other works) to the Gallery by King George IV: on the left, J.M.W. Turner's Trafalgar (1822-3); and on the right, De Loutherbourg's Lord Howe's Victory (1795). In 1831 Davis exhibited his large oil painting The Painted Hall, Greenwich at the British Institution (no. 153, and possibly lot 88 in the sale of John Hinxman's collection in these Rooms, 25 March 1848).

We are grateful to Pieter van der Merwe of the National Maritime Museum, London, for his help in preparing this catalogue entry.

See lot 120 for a watercolour of St Eustache, Paris by Davis and information on John Hinxman and his collection.

More from Old Master & Early British Drawings & Watercolours

View All
View All