SIR WILLIAM BLAKE RICHMOND, R.A. (BRITISH, 1842-1921)
SIR WILLIAM BLAKE RICHMOND, R.A. (BRITISH, 1842-1921)
SIR WILLIAM BLAKE RICHMOND, R.A. (BRITISH, 1842-1921)
SIR WILLIAM BLAKE RICHMOND, R.A. (BRITISH, 1842-1921)
3 More
An Elegant Eye: The Property of a Distinguished Collector
SIR WILLIAM BLAKE RICHMOND, R.A. (BRITISH, 1842-1921)

Phaeton: Sunrise

Details
SIR WILLIAM BLAKE RICHMOND, R.A. (BRITISH, 1842-1921)
Phaeton: Sunrise
oil on canvas, with a painted arch
24 ¾ x 32 in. (62.9 x 81.4 cm.)
in the original frame
Provenance
Anonymous sale; Sotheby’s, London, 12 April 1985, lot 229.
Literature
H. Lascelles, 'The Life and Work of Sir W. B. Richmond', The Art Annual, Christmas Number, 1902, p. 14, illustrated.
H. Lascelles, The Magazine of Art, 1903, p. 426.
H. Blackburn, Academy Notes, London, 1903, p. 12.
S. Reynolds, William Blake Richmond: An Artist's Life 1842-1921, Norwich, 1995, pp. 225, 290, 340.
Exhibited
London, Royal Academy, 1903, no. 84.

Brought to you by

Sarah Reynolds
Sarah Reynolds Specialist, Head of Sale

Lot Essay


The Greek sun god Helios was responsible for driving a four horse chariot across the sky each day from a palace in the East to another in the West, thereby giving the earth its days and seasons. Helios had a mortal son, Phaeton, who was asked for proof of his divine parentage by his teasing earthly companions. In reponse Helios promised the boy anything he wanted. When Phaeton requested to drive the sun chariot Helios, despite his misgivings, allowed his son to take the reins. Disaster struck, and after initially soaring towards the heavens, the chariot then plunged to earth, scorching its surface before Zeus destroyed carriage and boy with a thunderbolt.
In Phaeton: Sunrise Blake Richmond has captured the initial moment of light, when the horses and chariot began to veer high above the earth.

More from British and European Art

View All
View All