An autumn morning after rain

Details

Benjamin Williams Leader, R.A. (1831-1923)
An autumn morning after rain
signed and dated 'B.W.LEADER-1879' (lower left) and further signed and inscribed 'An autumn morning after rain B.W. Leader' (on the stretcher)
oil on canvas
15 7/8 x 24 in. (40.2 x 60.9 cm.)

Provenance

Purchased from the artist by J.F. Walker, Birmingham, July 1879, £63. Anonymous sale [Walker]; Christie's, London, 21 April 1883, lot 107 (200 gns to Endicott).
with P. Polak, Bury Art Galleries, London, by 1950.

Literature

The artist's own sale records, 1879.
R. Wood, Benjamin Williams Leader, R.A., 1831-1923, Woodbridge, 1998, pp. 60-61, 63.

Special notice

VAT rate of 5% is payable on hammer price and at 15% on the buyer's premium

Lot Essay

It is conceivable that this landscape of 1879 was the initial work which inspired Leader's most publicly acclaimed Royal Academy exhibit of 1881: February Fill Dyke (no. 42). Both landscapes, depicting an unknown hamlet in Worcestershire, were originally titled 'November Morning after Rain'. The Academy picture depicted a winter sunset after rain; in contrast to the present lot's autumnal theme.

We are grateful to Ruth Wood for her help in preparing this catalogue entry. Mrs Wood is currently working on a catalogue raisoneé of the paintings of Benjamin Williams Leader, which will include the present lot.

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