JOHN RUSKIN (British, 1819-1900)
sunset, distant view of Abbeville and St. Wulfran church
handwritten in ink on mat:
Abbeville/Painted by Mr. Ruskin and given by him to me./Francesca Alexander
Francesca Alexander (Boston/Florence, 1837-1917)
unsigned, watercolor over pencil enhanced with bodycolor, 5.5 by 8.75 in., matted, framed under museum glass
Prov. 1970's, Henry Upham, Sagamore Beach, MA; given to Helen Kelly, 1980's also from Sagamore Beach; then to her daughter to the present.
Ruskin, writer, art critic, draughtsman, watercolourist, social thinker, philanthropist stayed at Abbeville from August 25 to October 21, 1868.
Born in Boston, Francesca and family moved to Florence when she was 16. She became proficient as a translator of Italian folk verse and songs. In 1882 she met Ruskin who was impressed by her compilation of Tuscan songs and the accompanied drawings by her, particularly Roadside Songs of Tuscany. This and other works, Ruskin later edited and published including The Story of Ida and Roadside Songs. The two were close friends until Ruskin's death. She was one of two women artists who changed Ruskin's thinking that women artists were "graceful in a minor way", but, inferior to male artists. Her correspondences with Ruskin are held by the New York City Morgan Library, and her papers are collected in the Boston Athenaeum. See lot 65, the portrait of Eleanor Burrill is painted by Francesca's father, Francis Alexander.
Estimate: $20,000 - $30,000
Realized: $35,000 - Excluding Buyer's Premium
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Lot 1 : JOHN RUSKIN (British, 1819-1900)
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