18th century oils by important British artist to be offered at Reeman Dansie
An important pair of oil paintings by Edward Dayes (1763-1804) are to appear at auction for possibly the first time in their history; they will be sold in Reeman Dansie’s Royalty, Fine Art & Antiques sale on Wednesday 6th November. The paintings depict Grosvenor Square and Hanover Square respectively, and the scenes closely resemble those found in a set of four aquatints illustrating views of newly rebuilt London squares, produced after watercolours by Dayes and published in 1787 and 1789.
The paintings come with interesting provenance, having been the property of Edward Curzon, 6th Earl Howe of Gopsall Park and Penn House, thence by descent to a Lady of title.
Dayes achieved most success in his lifetime as a watercolourist and engraver, learning from the works of Paul Sandby, and he exhibited 64 works in the Royal Academy throughout his lifetime. He was known to have been an influence on J. M. W. Turner, and his pupils included Thomas Girtin. Dayes produced comparatively few oil paintings, having turned to the medium later in his life before committing suicide at the age of 41. These two pictures are among the largest known works in oil by the artist.
Both pictures show groups of fashionably dressed figures, and others going about day-to-day business, with the new buildings on either side of the landscaped squares. This represented modern ideas about city living, and the new London squares can be seen as a response to the feeling of public figures such as John Evelyn, who had claimed that the nation was “much inferior” to other European countries because of the state of its public works, with improvements necessary in everything from air quality, roads, housing, and paving. The use of neo-classical architectural forms shows how people were looking to the great civilizations of Rome and Greece to provide a model to create a better world. The architecture of the square also provided residents with the space to promenade and socialise, with the gentry and bourgeoisie living closer together, reflecting the changing class structures of the 18th century.
This is a rare opportunity to acquire two paintings that reflect a crucial period in British history, and do so in the accomplished manner of an important artist, but with touches of humour and frivolity that would have undoubtedly appealed to the contemporary market.
