Name: ARCHIBALD STUART WORTLEY (BRITISH, 1849-1905)
Brand: The March Past: Howard, Alan and Nairne, sons of Alfred Reynolds, Esq.
Price: 26000.00 GBP
Availability: SoldOut

ARCHIBALD STUART WORTLEY (BRITISH, 1849-1905)
The March Past: Howard, Alan and Nairne, sons of Alfred Reynolds, Esq.
signed with monogram and dated '1887' (upper left)
oil on canvas
55³⁄₈ x 68¹⁄₈ in. (141.3 x 173 cm.)

London, Royal Academy, 1887, no. 541.

This lot is offered without reserve.
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Lot Essay

Depicting the three elder children of Sir Alfred Reynolds, J.P. (1850-1931) and his wife, Emily Margaret née Boyd (1856-1936), The March Past, was executed by Archibald Stuart Wortley, a pupil of Millais and later President of the Society of Portrait Painters. The three boys, Howard, aged 10 (standing), Alan, aged 8 (on the left)and Nairne, aged 7 (centre), shown here in fashionable Van Dyckian fancy dress with their tin Lifeguards, all went on to become regular soldiers.

Educated at Winchester, all three boys were keen horsemen and, encouraged by their father, who was Secretary to the Hertfordshire Hunt for many years, they all enlisted in cavalry regiments in the army: Howard to the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, Alan to the 12th Lancers and Nairne to the 21st Lancers. Howard and Alan both saw active service in South Africa during the Boer War, although Howard subsequently died of typhoid in India in 1904 at the age of 27. Alan (1879-1940) and Nairne (1880-1967) were sent to France in 1914, along with their younger brother Guy. Nairne was captured shortly after the battle of Moncel in September 1914 and served out the rest of the First World War as a P.O.W.

Later in life Nairne recalled their childhood sitting for The March Past fondly: 'It was painted by Archibald Stuart Wortley who was a great friend of Millais and who used to come and talk to him while painting. S. Wortley made a mess of my face several times and threw his brushes down cursing my face; Millais, who was there, told him to give him the brushes and painted in my face, otherwise it was entirely painted by S. Wortley.'

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Condition report

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The condition of lots can vary widely and the nature of the lots sold means that they are unlikely to be in a perfect condition. Lots are sold in the condition they are in at the time of sale.

This report was prepared by Hamish Dewar Fine Art Conservation in the Christie's warehouse for the purpose of this sale.

UNCONDITIONAL AND WITHOUT PREJUDICE

Structural condition

The canvas is unlined and is attached to what is evidently the original keyed wooden stretcher.
There are a number of small patches on the reverse of the canvas and one larger patch in the
upper left quadrant as seen from the reverse. There is an overall pattern of raised craquelure
and the canvas is generally rather uneven and while the overall structural condition is still
reasonably secure, it may well be felt that the canvas has reached the stage where it would be
preferable to remove the patches from the reverse and line the canvas onto a secondary linen
support. This would help with the restoration of the areas relating to the patches and ensure
an even and secure surface and reduce the pattern of drying craquelure.

Paint surface

The paint surface has an old and discoloured varnish layer and should respond very well to
cleaning and revarnishing.
Inspection under ultraviolet light confirms how discoloured the varnish layers have become
and how beneficial cleaning would be and also shows scattered retouchings, some of which
correspond to the patches on the reverse. The most significant of the retouchings are:
1) Three areas in the lower right of the composition, on and between the legs of the standing
child on the right of the composition, and a repaired tear, by the left hand of the same figure.
2) An area of retouching on the lower left vertical framing edge.
There are other scattered retouchings, including fine lines infilling craquelure and there may be
further retouchings that I could not identify under ultraviolet light beneath the very discoloured
varnish layers. Ultraviolet light also shows that the faces of the three children have been
selectively cleaned in the past.

Summary

The painting would therefore appear to be in essentially good condition with the potential to
be transformed should the painting be cleaned, restored, revarnished and lined.

Print Report