A BARRISTER’S COLLECTIONA Lifetime of Collecting by Professor W. M. Ballantyne

The Fine Art Society

A Barrister’s Collection: A Lifetime of Collecting by Professor W. M. Ballantyne

5 to 21 March 2014

The Fine Art SocietyDealers since 1876

148 New Bond Street · London w1s 2jt+44 (0)20 7629 5116 · ru@faslondon.comwww.faslondon.com

A Barrister’s Collection The Fine Art SocietyA Lifetime of Collecting by Professor W. M. Ballantyne

There are very many pleasures being a dealer, but perhaps the greatest of these is to meet a collector whose eye and taste chimes with one’s own, and whose enthusiasm is so infectious that it just carries you away. Some have described collecting as a form of madness, but all who are afflicted would agree that it is a very amiable form.

One such is Bill Ballantyne, a tall, impressive, slightly exotic, elegant lawyer, who would stride in to The Fine Art Society at irregular intervals and invariably fall in love with something on our walls. So much of Bill’s time was then spent in the Middle East that we could never predict the timing of his visits. We had several lawyers on our roster of clients at that time – the mid-1970s – but Bill cut an entirely different figure, and he still does, having hardly changed in the fifty years he has been crossing our threshold.

Exchanging mutually-held passions for well-wrought pictures, always with a strong aspect of light in them; skiing and sailing was, and is, a pleasure beyond price. And, as Bill will tell you, price is a secondary consideration when planning an acquisition – the picture or sculpture, and the

emotional and physical reaction you have to it, is paramount.

Amusingly, I note that The Fine Art Society’s earliest manuscript records of the Ballantyne purchases are in my juvenile hand; and no doubt my coevals at picture dealers Agnew’s and Spink’s – alas now both gone – would have been making the same records, for Bill was also a very good friend of theirs.

Over the years I have been closely involved with the disposal of many wonderful collections, with which I had a hand in their creation; and I am always reminded at these times of the wise words of an old and dear friend, sadly no longer with us, the New York media magnate Malcolm Forbes who built up several world-class collections, and who told his four sons to never worry about selling a collection, for without sellers, how would buyers ever be able to build their own.

And, for all these collectors, they have wonderful aide-memoires of their days in the Elysian fields of the art market in the catalogue that you have just opened

Simon EdsorDirector, The Fine Art Society.

Preface

Detail from An Italianate Capriccio Landscape with Figures beside a River, Etienne Allegrain [cat.1]

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Introduction

Not very long after the end of the War, my wife Isabel and I decided that if we ever earned any surplus money, we would collect pictures.

We decided that stocks, shares and the like were vis-ually a bore, whereas something to be loved, hung on the wall, taken out in the garden sunlight and, as they do, reveal a new mystery on each viewing – that was another matter. If in the course of time their value increased, that would also be luck. But, and let this be stressed, the only proper motive for buying a picture can never be linked to its value – you must love it. This very largely explains the variety and catholicity of this present collection. What joy it gave to us.

I was very lucky to have achieved, right at the beginning a copy of that brilliant book Painting as a Pastime by Winston Churchill (1948).

In May 1915 Churchill left the Admiralty and although he still remained a member of the War Cabinet, as he put it he ‘knew everything and could do nothing’. That left him ‘gasping’ and then it was that the Muse of Painting came to his rescue and said: ‘Are these toys any good to you? They amuse some people.’

What a divine gift! Having myself adopted the pleasure, therapy, agony and yet sheer enjoyment of just ‘messing about with paint’ may I briefly extol its values. The therapy – undoubted. Spend four to five hours in beautiful countryside without a break and without adverting to any other worry or thought other than the fascinating task in hand! Right from the start – take the lid off the turpentine bottle and breathe well; you are away. The colours, the slosh of the mixing, the sudden discovery of a ‘new’ colour which fascinates to the extent of over-use, ruining your feeble efforts – it goes further than all that. Trying to paint enhances beyond measure one’s appre-ciation of paintings done by others. How on earth did the artist even have the nerve to envisage or to try to do that? That one brushstroke without which the whole picture would have been lost. As to fine draw-ing – how did Holbein as an example convey whole character with a single thin line of pencil? Yet none of this induces in us lesser beings despair nor even envy, but admiration and enjoyment.

It is in some ways ungrateful to single out any of this collection for individual mention, but nonetheless

Detail from Before the Storm c.1958, Algernon Newton [cat.37]

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– David Roberts Bethlehem [cat.40]. Many years ago I was driving past Spink’s when my companion said ‘Stop – is that not a Roberts up in that window?’ Indeed it was. Having later reviewed that wonderful Roberts exhibition at the Barbican some years ago I still regard it as the most beautiful travel scape Roberts ever did. Saturday morning I phoned up Spink’s – luckily it had not been sold and has delighted me ever since. Look coolly at it any evening and get lost in the calm light of Bethlehem in 1830. You can smell the soft air.

The ‘Lorenzetti’ [cat.44] – which one was it? Certainly Siena; and what fun, an early strip cartoon. But more – Siena, and immediately memories of the Palio, the horses thundering down the square, and above the square the Lorenzetti fresco in the Town Hall, the studies of government.

The Allegrain [cat.1]: Isabel’s favourite picture; she hoped that paradise would be just like that. I hope she has found it so. There is an exact replica (or copy?) in the Bowes Museum.

The ‘Van Goyen’ Lobster Catchers [cat.36]: spotted by me at a sale at Christie’s, to which I rushed across the room like a dart. There is no decipherable signature but on the back is an attribution by Christie’s, and who else painted that light?

After all, painting is, or should be, light. Essentially

of course the impressionists realised that, and played down light over shade, chiaroscuro, and painted light by the use of counter reflecting colours.

So to another example – Harwich Estuary with Shipping by Wilson Steer [cat.48]. Quite a different idiom – oils but virtually a watercolour – and awash with light. Looks easy doesn’t it? Get out your painting box and try to do it.

A Summer Afternoon, Allan Gwynne-Jones [cat.19] – this is really a very good picture. An absolute master of tone values. He knew he had had a winning afternoon – look at his notes on the back! The Ivon Hitchens [cat.22] – for years we looked for a Hitchens without finding the right one then Agnew’s advertised this one as Picture of the Month and that was that. A remark-able painter – not very much paint, but you can sit and gaze at it for hours and each visit reveals something dif-ferent. St Anthony and the Centaur [cat.2] – St Anthony in the desert was tempted by a satyr and a centaur. He thoroughly ticked off the centaur who chastened him and showed him the way into the desert.

So one could go on forever.Thank you for coming to see the exhibition. It has

been a great joy to amass and for ourselves to enjoy.

Bill BallantyneJanuary 2014

Detail from St Anthony and the Centaur, attributed to Lorenzo Bastiani [cat.2]

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A Barrister’s Collection The Plates

Details from Angels playing a Rebec and a Lute, South Netherlandish School, first half of the sixteenth century [cat.46]

1 · Sienese School, first half of the fifteenth century · The Story of Mars and Venuscatalogue number 43

3 · Attributed to Lorenzo Bastiani · Saint Anthony and the Centaurcatalogue number 2

2 · Edward Stott 1859–1918 · Evening in August 1887catalogue number 49

4 · Cesare Gennari 1637–1688 The Virgin appearing to St. Nicholas of Baricatalogue number 16

5 · Carlo Innocenzo Carlone 1687–1775 The Triumph of the Arts: a Bozzettacatalogue number 10

7 · Algernon Newton 1880-1968 · Before the Storm c.1958catalogue number 37

6 · Etienne Allegrain 1644–1736 · An Italianate Capriccio Landscape with Figures beside a Rivercatalogue number 1

9 · Walter Richard Sickert 1860-1942 · The Way to the Cemetery, Envermeu 1919catalogue number 43

8 · Philip Wilson Steer 1860–1942 · Harwich Estuary with Shipping 1913catalogue number 48

10 · South Netherlandish School, first half of the sixteenth century Angels playing a Rebec and a Lute catalogue number 46

11 · Sir George Clausen 1852–1944 A Cottage Girl 1893catalogue number 12

12 · David Roberts RA 1796–1864 Bethlehem, Looking Towards the Dead Sea 1853catalogue number 40

13 · Jacopo Negretti, known as Palma il Giovane 1548–1628 · The Resurrected Christ appearing to his Disciplescatalogue number 35

14 · Frederick Goodall RA 1822–1904 · A Standing Arab in an Interior 1859/69catalogue number 18

15 · John Robertson Reid 1851–1926 · The Fisherman’s Wife 1883catalogue number 39

16 · Gwen John 1876–1939 · A Nun and Two Girls in Church 1920scatalogue number 30

17 · Harold Gilman 1876–1919 · The Washerwoman (‘Le Lavandeuse’) c.1911catalogue number 17

19 · Edward Le Bas 1904–1966 · The Stationcatalogue number 32

18 · Allan Gwynne-Jones 1892–1982 · A Summer Afternoon 1936catalogue number 19

20 · Ivon Hitchens 1893–1979 · Landscape (Summer Waters) 1961catalogue number 22

1 · ETIENNE ALLEGRAIN 1644–1736An Italianate Capriccio Landscape with Figures beside a RiverPlate 6Oil on canvas · 31 x 39 inches (78.5 x 99 cm)Though little biographical information about the artist survives, it is clear that his stylistic inspiration comes from Nicolas Poussin and his heroic landscapes painted half a century earlier.

2 · ATTRIBUTED TO LORENZO BASTIANISaint Anthony and the CentaurPlate 3Oil on panel · 11 x 26 inches (28 x 66 cm)

Saint Antony set off into the desert in search of the aged Paul the Hermit. But he didn’t know the way. First, according to the short life of Paul the Hermit written by Saint Jerome in about 375AD, he met a centaur. Antony made the sign of the cross on his own forehead, and asked the way. When the centaur spoke, it was as if he bit the words into pieces. But he pointed in the direction that St Antony should take, and galloped off. (Christopher Howse, October 2013)

3 · VITORIO BIGARI 1692–1776Study of Three Female FiguresPen and brown ink 6 x 4 7/8 inches (15.2 x 12.2 cm)Signed upper right ‘Bigari’Provenance: Dr. Richard P. Wunder, Vermont; Thomas Agnew & Sons.Exhibited: Middlebury College, Architectural, Ornament, Landscape and Figure Drawings collected by Richard P. Wunder, 1975 (no.117)

A Barrister’s Collection The Catalogue

21 · Raymond Booth b.1929 The Old Sycamore at Eccup 1978catalogue number 6

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11 · GEORGE CHINNERY 1774–1852Landscape with Castle and TreesPencil and watercolour · 4 3/4 x 3 3/4 inches (12.1 x 9.5 cm)Provenance: Viscount Ednam; Christie’s 14 March 1967.Exhibited: Spink & Sons c.1960

12 · SIR GEORGE CL AUSEN 1852–1944A Cottage Girl 1893Plate 11Oil on canvas · 23 1/2 x 19 1/2 inches (59.7 x 49.5 cm)Signed upper right ‘G. Clausen. 1893’Provenance: Christie’s, London, 2 May 1952 (lot 66, 14 guineas).Literature: Christie’s Annual Review reproduced no.34Exhibited: Royal Academy, 1893 (57); Barbizon House, 1929.

13 · PETER DE WINT 1784–1849A Wooded LandscapeOil on prepared board · 14 1/2 x 20 inches (37 x 51cm)Provenance: John Vokins and by descent to his great-grand-son; Thomas Agnew & Sons.Exhibited: London, Thomas Agnew & Sons, 100th Annual Exhibition of Watercolours and Drawings, 15 January–16 February 1973 (no.25)

14 · JEAN ALEXANDRE JOSEPH FALGUIERE 1831–1900DianeMarble 10 inches (25.4 cm) highSigned on the reverse ‘A Falguiere’

15 · ROGER FRY 1866–1934Italian Landscape 1921Watercolour · 7 7/8 x 12 1/8 inches (19.8 x 31 cm)Signed and dated bottom leftProvenance: Martin Hardie; Thomas Agnew & Sons.

16 · CESARE GENNARI 1637–1688The Virgin appearing to St Nicholas of BariPlate 4Red chalk · 7 7/8 x 12 1/8 inches (19.8 x 31 cm)Provenance: Thomas Agnew & Sons, no.43520.

This drawing is related to a pen and ink study of St Nicholas of Bari by Cesare Gennari, the nephew of Guercino, which was in the collection of Denis Mahon (I Desegni del Guericino della Collezione Mahon, no. 47, repr. plates 50–1, recto and verso). The Mahon drawing is a preparatory study for Gennari’s altarpiece in the church of San Nicolò degli Albari in Bologna, the parish church of the Gennari family and close to Guercino’s house. Malvasia records that the painting was given by Cesare to the church in 1686 after its reconstruction in 1680. While the Mahon drawing is very close to the finished paint-ing, with St Nicholas appearing to the left of the composition and the Virgin on his right, it is possible that our drawing was a prima idea before the artist had fully worked out the final composition.

17 · HAROLD GILMAN 1876–1919The Washerwoman (‘Le Lavandeuse’) c.1911Plate 17Oil on canvas · 14 x 12 1/4 inches (35.6 x 31.1 cm)Signed lower right: ‘H. Gilman’Provenance: Thomas Agnew & Sons.

18 · FREDERICK GOODALL 1822–1904A Standing Arab in an Interior 1859/69Plate 14Oil on canvas · 29 1/2 x 15 inches (74.9 x 38.1 cm)Signed with monogram lower rightExhibited: The Fine Art Society, October 1991.

Bigari was one of the most important decorative painters work-ing in Bologna in the eighteenth century. His most famous decorative cycle is his series of frescoes in the Palazzo Aldrovandi and the Palazzo Ranuzzi, Bologna, which he was engaged on in the 1720s. The theatrical style of these late baroque frescoes is echoed in this drawing in which three elegant figures employ characteristically dramatic gestures. This sheet demonstrates how close Bigari’s graphic style comes to that of his elder con-temporary Donato Creti.

4 · ADOLPH BOHM 1844–c.1900

Side Canal, Venice 1886Oil on board · 12 x 8 1/2 inches (30.5 x 21.6 cm)Signed and dated lower left ‘Ad. Bohm. 86’

5 · ADOLPH BOHM 1844–c.1900

The Salute, Venice 1886Oil on board · 12 x 8 1/2 inches (30.5 x 21.6 cm)Signed and dated lower left ‘Ad. Bohm. 86’

6 · RAYMOND BOOTH b.1929

The Old Sycamore at Eccup 1978Plate 21Oil on paper · 9 x 5 3/4 inches (22.9 x 14.6 cm)Signed below image right: ‘R E Booth 1978’Exhibited: London, The Fine Art Society, November–December 1982 ‘Raymond Booth’ (36)

7 · SCHOOL OF RICHARD PARKES BONINGTON

The Card GameOil on panel · 6 3/8 x 5 inches (16.2 x 12.7 cm)

8 · PIERRE BONNARD 1867–1947Coin de Rue 1898/9Lithograph in four colours · image 10 5/8 x 13 3/4 inches (26.9 x 34.9 cm); sheet 15 7/8 x 20 3/4 inches (40.1 x 52.7 cm)UnsignedLiterature: Claude Roger-Marx, Bonnard, Paris 1950 no.58; Francis Bouvet, Bonnard: The Graphic Work, London 1982 no.60From the series Quelques aspects de la rue de Paris 1899

9 · HUGH C AMERON 1835–1918The Barley FieldOil on canvas · 12 x 24 inches (30.5 x 61 cm)Inscribed on the reverse: ‘A Barley Field by Hugh Cameron’

10 · C ARLO INNOCENZO C ARLONE 1687–1775The Triumph of the Arts: a bozzettaPlate 5Oil on canvas · 33 1/2 x 22 inches (85 x 56 cm)Provenance: Private collection, Genoa; with Agnew’s, London.Literature: A. Barigozzi Brini and K. Garas, Carlo Innocenzo Carloni, Milan 1967, p.86, reproduced plate 67; Advertisement, Apollo Magazine, October 1986, p.lxxxi, reproduced.Exhibited: London, Agnew’s, 17th and 18th Century Italian Paintings, 3–26 October 1968.

A label affixed to the reverse reads: ‘The other figures represented in this sketch are ‘Justice’ and [ … ] putti holding up a mirror to (?) ‘Beauty’ This sketch was possibly made for a ceiling painted during one of the artist’s many trips to Germany and Austria. Carlone, one of the most brilliant decorators of the eighteenth century was a master of the bozzetti and this is a fine example of his firm yet intensely fiery style. He seems to have kept his bozzetti, and at his death some three hundred were found in his studio.’

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27 · GWEN JOHN 1876–1939La rue Terre-Neuve (Winter) c.1929Charcoal and watercolour · 7 x 5 1/2 inches (17.8 x 14 cm)Provenance: The Artist’s Estate; Anthony d’Offay; purchased by the present owner in 1982.Exhibited: Anthony d’Offay, Gwen John 1876–1939, 1 July to 22 August 1982, ex. cat. no.73, 1982.

28 · GWEN JOHN 1876–1939A Young Girl with Long HairWatercolour on brown paper · 7 3/4 x 6 1/2 inches (19.6 x 16.5 cm)Stamped ‘Gwen John’ lower left, studio stampProvenance: The Artist’s nephew, Edwin John; Mansard Walker, New York c. 1948; Christie’s 17 November 1978.Exhibited: Matthiesen Gallery, London, Gwen John Memorial Exhibition, September-October 1946.

29 · GWEN JOHN 1876–1939A Woman in a HatPencil · 8 1/4 x 6 3/4 inches (21 x 17.1 cm)Provenance: Thomas Agnew & Sons.

30 · GWEN JOHN 1876–1939A Nun and Two Girls in Church 1920sPlate 16Watercolour and bodycolour · 7 x 5 1/2 inches (17.8 x 14 cm)Stamped lower left ‘Gwen John’ Estate stampProvenance: Estate of the Artist until 1966; Faerber & Maison; Véra Oumançoff; Thomas Agnew & Sons 1970.Exhibited: Arts Council tour, London, Tate Gallery, January–March, Graves Art Gallery, Sheffield, March–April, National Museum of Wales, Cardiff, April–May 1968, Gwen John: A Retrospective Exhibition (no.109); London, Barbican Art Gallery 12 September–3 November 1985, Manchester City Art Gallery,

28 November 1985–26 January 1986, New Haven, Yale Center for British Art 26 February–20 April 1986, Gwen John: An Interior Life (no.116)Literature: Cecily Langdale & David Fraser Jenkins, Gwen John: An Interior Life, Phaidon Press & Barbican Art Gallery, London no.116, colour plate 62

31 · PETER KUHFELD b. 1952Cathryn Writing 1983Oil on board · 15 3/4 x 12 3/4 inches (40 x 32.4 cm)Signed bottom right ‘Kuhfeld’Signed and inscribed verso ‘Cathryn writing’ and ‘A Summer Afternoon 1983, Aug 1983, Peter Kuhfeld’

32 · EDWARD LE BAS 1904–1966The StationPlate 19Oil on board · 14 x 20 inches (35.6 x 50.8 cm)Signed lower leftProvenance: J.C. Sanderson, Perth; Alex. Reid & Lefevre; David Messum.

33 · JEAN-FRANCOIS MILLET 1814–1875La Grande Bergere 1862Etching · 12 1/2 x 9 1/4 inches, sheet 14 1/2 x 11 1/8 inchesPrinted in brown ink on Japanese paperLiterature: Delteil no.18, only stateProvenance: Thomas Agnew & Sons.

34 · JOHN NASH 1893–1977The River, Evening – Wormingfold c.1930Watercolour · 18 x 22 1/2 inches (45.7 x 57.2 cm)Signed lower rightProvenance: The Fine Art Society 1975.

19 · ALL AN GWYNNE-JONES 1892–1982A Summer Afternoon 1936Plate 18Oil on panel · 10 1/4 x 13 1/4 inches (26 x 33.7 cm)Signed and dated lower left: ‘AGJ 1936’Inscribed on the reverse: ‘Note to be placed with frame so that nothing is cut off the sky on right of picture, a fraction over 1/4 inch off bottom and left of picture A. Gwynne-Jones’ & ‘To be varnished by the wi[…] 1937’Provenance: The Fine Art Society, September, 1996.

20 · FREDERICK HENRY HENSHAW 1807–1891Wild Plants Under a Fence 1842Oil on canvas · 28 x 21 inches (71.1 x 53.3 cm)Signed and dated lower left

21 · DEREK HILL 1916–2000Olive Picking c.1950Oil on panel · 8 3/4 x 5 3/4 inches (22.3 x 14.6 cm)Signed with monogram lower leftProvenance: The Leicester Galleries; Edward Le Bas.Exhibited: The Leicester Galleries, Derek Hill, June 1950 (no. 53); The Royal Academy, London, The Edward Le Bas Collection, 1968 (33)

22 · IVON HITCHENS 1893–1979Landscape (Summer Waters) 1961Plate 20Oil on canvas · 21 x 57 inches (53.3 x 144.8 cm)Signed lower rightInscribed verso: ‘Summer Waters 1961, 21 x 57, by IVON HITCHENS, Greenleaves. Petworth. Surrey’ & ‘You are advised NOT to remove this glass without first consulting the artist or the Waddington Galleries’

Provenance: Waddington Galleries; Mr James Priestman; Thomas Agnew & Sons.Exhibited: Ferens Art Gallery, Hull, Collector’s Choice 1970 (no. 88, lent by Mr & Mrs J. Priestman).

23 · JAMES HOLL AND 1799–1870The Cannon Taken at Sebastopol 1859Watercolour · 4 1/2 x 6 3/4 inches (11.3 x 17.2 cm)Inscribed with title and ‘Margate 12, 16 Sept ’59’Provenance: Thomas Agnew & Sons.Exhibited: London, Thomas Agnew & Sons, 107th Annual Exhibition of Watercolours and Drawings, 21 January–15 February 1980 (75).

24 · JAMES HOLL AND 1799–1870The Sea Front at Brighton c.1859Watercolour and bodycolour · 4 x 11 1/2 inches (10.2 x 29.2 cm)Provenance: Thomas Agnew & Sons.

25 · AUGUSTUS EDWIN JOHN 1878–1961Lucy 1904Etching · 4 7/8 x 3 7/8 inches (12.2 x 9.8 cm)Signed with initials in pencil ‘A E John’Provenance: Thomas Agnew & Sons.Literature: Campbell Dodgson, A Catalogue of the Etchings of Augustus John 1901–1914, London 1920, no.70, state 2 of 2 from the edition of 25

26 · AUGUSTUS EDWIN JOHN 1878–1961Romilly John c.1909Pencil · 13 x 8 1/4 inches (33 x 21 cm)Signed in pencil ‘John’ lower leftProvenance: Thomas Agnew & Sons.

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Signed and dated top left ‘Carlo Rossi/84’Exhibited: Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh, Annual Exhibition 1985 no.232

43 · WALTER RICHARD SICKERT 1860–1942The Way to the Cemetery, Envermeu 1919Plate 9Oil on board · 9 1/4 x 7 1/4 inches (24.1 x 19 cm)Inscribed ‘Sickert Envermeu 1919’ b.l., dedicated on the reverse ‘To my dear friend Rayner, Oct 13, 1920’Provenance: Given by the Artist to John Rayner; John Perry; Christie’s, London, 3 March, 1978 (205); Thomas Agnew & Son.Literature: Wendy Baron, Sickert Paintings and Drawings, New Haven & London 2006 no.513 reproduced.The first owner of this work was John Rayner, who ran the Eldar Gallery where Sickert had an exhibition in February 1919.

44 · SIENESE SCHOOL, FIRST HALF OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURYThe Story of Mars and VenusPlate 1Tempera on panel, a cassone front · 20 7/8 x 60 5/8 inches (53 x 154 cm)Provenance: With Galerie d’art Alberto D’Atri, Paris (inv.no.1823); private collection, London; consigned from the above via the agency of Dr Tancred Borenius and sold anonymously (‘The Property of a Lady’), London, Sotheby’s, 8 March 1944, lot 82, for £210 to Hatvany (as School of Ambrogio Lorenzetti); Baron Ferenc Hatvany (1881–1958), London; by order of whose Trustees sold, London, Christie’s, 11 July 1980, lot 25, where acquired by Thomas Agnew & Sons (as Sienese School, c.1420).Literature: C. Brandi, Giovanni di Paolo, Florence 1947, p. 105, note 10 (as Pellegrino di Mariano); F. Zeri, Italian Paintings in the Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore 1976, p.124, under cat.no.81 (as Pellegrino di Mariano).

This charming panel was originally the front section of a fifteenth-century cassone, its use as a working object confirmed by the key hole that can still be seen in the upper centre of the panel. The beautiful pastiglia adornment around the painted surface is typical of the careful decoration applied to this type of chest, which was usually commissioned on the occasion of a marriage; the union of the two families is made explicit by the two coats-of arms at the sides. The story relates one of the more amusing of the many misdemeanours of the Olympian gods as told by Homer in his Odyssey (8:226-367), and also recounted in Ovid’s Metamorphoses (4:171-189). The artist has taken great care in presenting the narrative flow in four distinct episodes set within a fantastical landscape typical of Sienese painting of the fifteenth century, replete with undertones of the Garden of Eden in its harmonious juxtaposition of lions and rabbits. To the far left we find the god Apollo, identifiable by his typical attribute, the sun, spying on a couple in bed. As the personification of dawn, Apollo is the first, both literally and figuratively, to see what happens, so it is only natural that it is left to him to catch Venus, the wife of Vulcan, and Mars, the god of war, in flagrante delicto. In the second section the artist captures Apollo’s excited haste as he hurries to inform Vulcan, Venus’ husband and blacksmith to the gods, who can be seen hard at work at his smithy. To have his vengeance Vulcan prepares a net and lays a trap for the lov-ers. The climax of the scene, to the right of the picture, shows Vulcan and the other Olympian gods surprising the lovers as they are caught in bed, tied up in Vulcan’s net. The panel was first attributed to Pellegrino di Mariano (docu-mented in Siena 1442–1492) by Cesare Brandi in 1947, an attribu-tion subsequently supported by Federico Zeri. The artist was a close followerof Giovanni di Paolo, one of the leading and most original figures in fifteenth-century Siena. Though Pellegrino is today known principally as a miniaturist, several paintings have been definitively assigned to him, two of which are signed: a

35 · JACOPO NEGRETTI, KNOWN AS PALMA IL GIOVANE 1548-1628 The Resurrected Christ appearing to his DisciplesPlate 13Oil on canvas · 27 x 43 inches (68.6 x 109.2 cm)Provenance:The Duchesse de Berry (1798-1870); by descent until anonymously sold (‘The Property of a European Nobleman’), London, Christie’s, 6 April 1984, lot 68.

Nephew of the great Palma Vecchio, Jacopo was formed in the ambit of Titian and is known to have completed the master’s Pietà, today in the Gallerie in Venice, in c.1570. His more mature style veered towards that of Tintoretto, whom he helped in the decoration of San Marco, and whose Mannerist idiom he helped carry into the seventeenth century. Palma was a prolific and popular artist with an impressive output, both in the form of altarpieces and easel paintings such as the present work.

36 · NETHERL ANDISH SCHOOL, SEVENTEENTH CENTURY, CIRCLE OF JAN VAN GOYEN 1596-1656Oil on panel 13 x 17 inches (33 x 43.2 cm)Provenance: Christie’s 11 June 1977 (attributed to Jan van Goyen 1596–1656).Exhibited: Worthing Art Gallery 1952; Brighton Art Gallery 1956 (76)

37 · ALGERNON NEWTON 1880–1968Before the Storm c.1958Plate 7Oil on canvas · 24 x 36 inches (61 x 91.4 cm)Signed with monogram lower leftProvenance: The Fine Art Society 1981.

38 · NINETEENTH-CENTURY ENGLISH SCHOOLFisherfolk on a BeachOil on panel · 13 1/2 x 16 1/2 inches (34.3 x 41.9 cm)

39 · JOHN ROBERTSON REID 1851–1926The Fisherman’s Wife 1883Plate 15Oil on canvas · 14 x 21 inches (35.6 x 53.3 cm)Signed and dated lower right ‘John R. Reid – 83’

40 · DAVID ROBERTS 1796–1864Bethlehem, Looking Towards the Dead Sea 1853Plate 12Oil on canvas · 24 x 47 inches (61 x 119.4 cm)Provenance: Sold to William Bicknell in 1853 for £165; with Spink & Sons, 1965.Exhibited: London, Royal Academy 1853 as ‘Bethlehem the city of David, looking towards the Dead Sea and the land of Moab’; London, Barbican Art Gallery, David Roberts, 1986–7 (157)Literature: David Roberts, Phaidon Press and Barbican Art Gallery, 1987, p.86, pl.76

41 · ZSUSZI ROBOZ 1939–2012Still Life with Cup, Saucer and JugOil on canvas · 21 1/2 x 22 1/2 inches (54.6 x 57.2 cm)Signed bottom left ‘Roboz’Inscribed verso ‘Z. Roboz / 76, Eccleston Square Mews, London, s.w.1.’

42 · C ARLO ROSSI 1921–2010Still Life with a GuitarOil on board · 10 1/2 x 28 1/2 inches (26.7 x 72.4 cm)

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Provenance: Acquired from Villon by a private collector; William Weston.Literature: Colette de Ginestet & Catherine Pouillon, Jacques Villon, les Estampes et les Illustrations, Paris 1979, no.155

A brilliant hand-wiped, delicately-printed proof impression on pale cream laid hollande-type paper. One of the only known impressions printed with colour in this form, probably unique. Hand-printed by Villon; before the edition in black ink.

52 · DAME ETHEL WALKER 1861–1951Rough Weather, Robin Hood’s Bay 1951Oil on canvas · 25 x 30 inches (63.5 x 76.2 cm)Provenance: Edward Le Bas c.1968.Exhibited: Sheffield City Art Galleries, British Painting 1900–1960, November–December 1975 (no.181)

53 · DAME ETHEL WALKER 1861–1951Low Tide 1951Oil on canvas · 25 x 30 inches (63.5 x 76.2 cm)Provenance: Mrs Porteous; The Fine Art Society 1975.Exhibited: New English Art Club

54 · HUBERT WELLINGTON 1879–1967Mill House at Uley, Gloucestershire 1932Oil on canvas · 18 1/4 x 24 1/4 inchesSigned on the reverse ‘H.L. Wellington’Provenance: Robert Wellington, the artist’s son; The Fine Art Society 1982.

55 · JAMES McNEILL WHISTLER 1834–1903Bibi Lallouette 1859Etching · 9 x 6 inches (22.9 x 15.2 cm)Untrimmed. Signed in the plateProvenance: Thomas Agnew & Sons.

56 · JAMES McNEILL WHISTLER 1834–1903The Beggars – VeniceEtching · 12 x 8 1/4 inches (30.5 x 21.1 cm)Signed in pencil with the butterfly and inscribed imp, on a sheet trimmed to the plate mark by the artist, leaving a signa-ture tab, and inscribed by the artist ‘The Beggars’ and signed with a further butter fly versoProvenance: Thomas Agnew & Sons.

small Madonna and Child, which is dated 1450, from the Kress collection, and today in the Brooks Memorial Art Gallery in Memphis, Tennessee, and a portable triptych in the Camaiori collection, Siena. Other cassone panels which have been convinc-ingly attributed to Mariano include the panel depicting the Story of Hippo, in the Walters Museum, Baltimore, (inv. no. 37.1029), and another showing Episodes from the Story of Esther, formerly in a private collection in Rome. Other fragmentary cassone fronts by the artist are known such as the Dream of Pharaoh, in the Wallraf-Richardz Museum, Cologne (inv.no.725), and three fragmentary scenes from the Old Testament which today are in the Museo diocesano d’arte sacra in Siena.

45 · WILLIAM SOMERVILLE SHANKS 1864 – 1951Head of an ArabOil on canvas · 18 x 16 inches (45.7 x 40.6 cm)Signed lower leftProvenance: Sotheby’s, London, 26 January 1984; The Fine Art Society.

46 · SOUTH NETHERL ANDISH SCHOOL, FIRST HALF OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURYAngels playing a Rebec and a LutePlate 10A pair, both oil on panel · each 17 1/2 x 5 inches (44.5 x 12.8 cm)

47 · PHILIP WILSON STEER 1860–1942Richmond Castle 1895Oil on panel · 10 x 14 inches (25.5 x 35.5 cm)Provenance: Professor Lyon Blase; R. Jackson of Liverpool; J. Davey & Sons, Liverpool; The Fine Art Society 1950; Christie’s, London, 27 April 1964 (138, as ‘A View of Bridgnorth Castle’); Maas Gallery; The Fine Art Society 1968.

Exhibited: The Fine Art Society, Philip Wilson Steer 1860–1942, February-March 1968 (no.8)Literature: Bruce Laughton, Philip Wilson Steer 1860–1942, Oxford 1971 no.179, reproduced pl.151

48 · PHILIP WILSON STEER 1860–1942Harwich Estuary with Shipping 1913Plate 8Oil on canvas · 26 x 36 inches (66 x 91.4 cm)Signed and dated lower leftProvenance: Sir Gervase Beckett; Mrs Bathurst Norman; Thomas Agnew & Sons 1968.Literature: Bruce Laughton, Philip Wilson Steer 1860–1942, Oxford 1971 no.492

49 · EDWARD STOTT 1859–1918Evening in August 1887Plate 2Oil on panel · 6 x 9 1/2 inches (15.2 x 24.1 cm)Signed bottom right ‘Edward Stott’Provenance: The Fine Art Society.

50 · JOHN VARLEY 1778–1842Loch Leven Castle 1833Watercolour · 7 x 9 7/8 inches (17.7 x 25cm)Signed and dated lower left ‘John Varley 1833’Provenance: T.W. Jeavons; with Thomas Agnew & Sons.

51 · JACQUES VILLON 1875–1964Jeune Fille de Dos: A Study of Suzanne Duchamp 1906Original drypoint with aquatint printed in 6 coloursSheet: 12 x 8 5/8 inches (30.5 x 21.8 cm) plate: 6 5/8 x 4 1/4 inches (16.8 x 10.8 cm)Signed in pencil lower right

4746

Year of Call: 1977

EducationDulwich College School Certificate: credits in Greek, Latin, French, English; High School Certificate: English, French, GermanTrinity Hall, Cambridge BA, MA Law

Main Areas of WorkInternational litigation and arbitration, as Chairman, Arbitrator, Counsel or Expert in Arab laws.

Additional informationPilot, 267 Squadron, 77 Squadron (Bomber Command), 1940–46Formerly offices at Kuwait, Bahrain, UAE (Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah) and sometime Legal Adviser to the Rulers and Government of Kuwait, Bahrain, UAE.Formerly member of the bars of those states.Visiting Professor of Arab Laws at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London. Teaches Post Graduate LLM Arab Comparative commercial Law: International Arbitration.Liveryman and Freeman of the City of LondonHon. Chairman, Arab Legal Forum, International Bar AssociationA complete library is maintained of the laws of Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman kept up to date as laws are issued and gazette (Arabic)

Appointments:Solicitor of the Supreme Court (formerly)

Cases of NoteDubai Bank Ltd. v Galadari and others [UAE law]Westacre Investments v Jugoimport [expert, Kuwaiti law]State of Kuwait v Getty Oil – counsel for State of Kuwait, [Kuwaiti law in New York Court]Qatar Petroleum Company v Shell – Expert counsel for Shell, [Qatari law arbitration, Paris]State of Qatar v Aerospace [Qatari law, Paris]Westland Helicopters Limited v Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates et al [Swiss Law, laws of the four states arbitration, Geneva]Trade Centre Management Co. Ltd v ruler of Dubai – counsel for TCMC [Dubai/UAE law arbitration, Amsterdam]American Independent Oil Company (Aminoil) v State of Kuwait, arbitration (Paris) – counsel for Aminoil [Kuwaiti law]Kuwait Oil Tanker Company v Al Badi & Ors [expert, Kuwaiti law]Baker Abduallah Mohammed Alsaadi and Others v Dolores Al saadi and Others [Kuwaiti law]Apex Global Management Ltd v Ficali Limited and Others [Saudi law]Standard Bank plc v Efal and Others [Kuwaiti law]

PublicationsEssays and Addresses on Arab Law (2000)Commercial Law in the Arab Middle East: The Gulf States (Lloyd’s of London Press, 1986)A register of Laws of the Arabian Gulf (Lloyd’s of London Press, 1985) et seqLegal Development in Arabia (Graham & Trotman, 1980)

LanguagesArabic, French

Professor William Ballantyne

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Published by The Fine Art Society for the exhibition A Barrister’s Collection: A Lifetime of Collecting by Professor W. M. Ballantyne held at 148 New Bond Street, London W1, from 5 to 21 March 2014

Catalogue © The Fine Art Society 2014 Introduction © William Ballantyne 2014

isbn 1 907052 37 8

Photography by A.C. Cooper Ltd Portrait photograph by Beverly C. Smith Designed and typeset in Dante and Magma by Dalrymple Printed in Belgium by Albe De Coker

Front cover: David Roberts Bethlehem, Looking Towards the Dead Sea, 1853, detail [cat.40] Back cover: Walter Sickert The Way to the Cemetery, Envermeu, 1919, enlarged detail [cat.43]

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A BARRISTER’S COLLECTIONA Lifetime of Collecting by Professor W. M. Ballantyne

The Fine Art Society

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