Landscape at Sunset by William Blake Richmond. Oil on board, 14 x 18 inches; label inscribed 'Given me by the artist in 1874 as a wedding present'. Provenance: Cecilia Kennedy (née Richmond) and thence by descent. [Click on image to enlarge it.]
“This elegiac painting of 1874 revisits the romantic vision of the Ancients, the group of young artists that Richmond, Palmer and Calvert formed around the figure of William Blake, 4 years before the great artist’s death in 1828. A crossroads at sunset on a heath seems freighted with meaning; as the light fails, a horseman takes the road down off the wild and dangerous heath, towards comfort and safety. In October of the year it was painted, Richmond’s youngest daughter Cecilia married and chose the picture for a wedding present, whilst George’s brother Thomas was in his final illness, dying the next month.” — the Maas Gallery website.
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Last modified 20 April 2020