Beschreibung:

A Vision of Arcadia – An Important English Private CollectionMary HayllarBritish1850 - 1950For a Good Boy
signed and dated Mary Wells / 1880 lower leftoil on canvasUnframed: 40.5 by 29cm., 16 by 11½in.Framed: 53.5 by 42cm., 21 by 16½in.Condition reportThis picture has been lined and the lining is providing a stable structural support. The paint surface is clean and there are no signs of craquelure - the picture is ready to hang. UNDER ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT There are retouchings along the side edges where the rebate of the frame has rubbed the paint surface.
Please note that Condition 12 of the Conditions of Business for Buyers (Online Only) is not applicable to this lot.
The lot is sold in the condition it is in at the time of sale. The condition report is provided to assist you with assessing the condition of the lot and is for guidance only. Any reference to condition in the condition report for the lot does not amount to a full description of condition. The images of the lot form part of the condition report for the lot. Certain images of the lot provided online may not accurately reflect the actual condition of the lot. In particular, the online images may represent colors and shades which are different to the lot's actual color and shades. The condition report for the lot may make reference to particular imperfections of the lot but you should note that the lot may have other faults not expressly referred to in the condition report for the lot or shown in the online images of the lot. The condition report may not refer to all faults, restoration, alteration or adaptation. The condition report is a statement of opinion only. For that reason, the condition report is not an alternative to taking your own professional advice regarding the condition of the lot. NOTWITHSTANDING THIS ONLINE CONDITION REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE/BUSINESS APPLICABLE TO THE RESPECTIVE SALE.ProvenanceChristopher Wood, London
Christopher Forbes (purchased from the above in 1989; sale: Christie's, London, 20 February 2003, lot 262)
Purchased at the above sale by the present ownerExhibitedLondon, Royal Academy, 1880, no. 641
Yale, Centre for British Art, A Struggle for Fame: Victorian Female Artists and Authors, 1994, no. 61
New York, The Forbes Magazine Galleries, Ladies of the Brush, 1994-1995, no. 21
Nottingham, Djanogly Art Gallery and Exeter, Royal Albert Memorial Museum, The Pursuit of Leisure; Victorian Depictions of Pastimes, 1997-1998, no. 59
Charlotte, Mint Museum of Art; Nashville, Cheekwood Museum of Art; Wilmington, Delaware Art Museum; Tampa Art Museum and New York, The Forbes Magazine Galleries, The Defining Moment: Victorian Narrative Paintings from the Forbes Magazine Collection, 2000-2001, no. 20Catalogue noteMary Wells, née Hayllar, was one from the remarkable daughters of the successful artist James Hayllar Hayllar had nine children, four sons and five daughters, four of which became professional artists under his tutelage and guidance; Mary, Edith, Kate and Jessica. Like her sisters she delighted in painting the domestic life of her parent’s home, Castle Priory in Wallingford in the Berkshire countryside. She particularly favoured scenes with tea-tables laid out with enticing treats, comparable examples painted in the same year as For a Good Boy include The Tennis Party (sold in these rooms, 12 July 2007, lot 6) where the fare is very lavish and the more modest Breakfast also from the same year (Bonhams, London, 1 March 2017, lot 49). Despite considerable talent Mary was the least prolific of the sisters and her work is therefore rare. She only exhibited handful of pictures at the Royal Academy from 1880 to 1885. It seems that she ceased painting after her marriage to Henry Wells in 1887 when she devoted herself to raising their children.
For a Good Boy was included in the famous collection of Victorian paintings owned by the Forbes Magazine Collection and housed at Old Battersea House, along with examples by all of her sisters.