Thomas Seaman
Specialist
Lot 98AR
Bertram Priestman(British, 1868-1951)Sketch for 'The Heart of the West Riding'
14 July 2021, 13:00 BST
London, KnightsbridgeSold for £4,462.50 inc. premium
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Bertram Priestman (British, 1868-1951)
Sketch for 'The Heart of the West Riding'
signed and dated 'PB 15'(lower left)
oil on canvas
46 x 61cm (18 1/8 x 24in).
signed and dated 'PB 15'(lower left)
oil on canvas
46 x 61cm (18 1/8 x 24in).
Footnotes
Provenance
The family of the artist, by descent.
This painting dated 1915 is a study for the large oil, 'The Heart of the West Riding' painted in 1916 which was gifted to the Bradford Museums and Galleries Collection in 1918 by Frederick Priestman.
The subject of smoking chimneys in the industrial heartland of Yorkshire was a subject Priestman returned to in later years.
"The combination of the grandeur of the moorland and valley landscape of Airedale with the grimly impressive industrial architecture of its cities inspired Priestman's memorable 1916 Academy painting, 'The Heart of the West Riding' (Bradford Art Galleries and Museums). The Art Journal commented that 'beauty, broadly understood, is not invariably destroyed by the presence of tall chimneys and the association of modern labour with ancient country peace.' Priestman's imagination responded powerfully to the smoking factory chimneys, viaducts, and mill buildings of his home town Bradford. 'The Heart of the West Riding' was already hanging in the Summer Exhibition by the time of the Academy elections in 1916 and probably contributed to Priestman's success in being elected an Associate." The Edwardians and After, The Royal Academy 1900-1950 ed. Mary Anne Stevens, London 1988, p. 137.