| | | | | | | | Document | Sale Catalog Br-266 | |
| Auction House | Christie's -- from catalog: Mr. Christie | | Sale Location | [No.125] Pall Mall, London, England, UK | | Seller(s) | Udny, Robert
from catalog: Robert Udny, Esq. Deceased
from auctioneer's copy: [Same] | | Lugt Number | 6806 | | No. of Painting Lots | 208 | | Notes | Robert Udny (1722-1802) was a successful West India merchant who, with the help of his younger brother John (1727-1800), had assembled a large collection of pictures that enjoyed considerable prestige in its day. John Udny had served as the British consul in Venice (1761-1776) and Leghorn (1776-ca.1798) which had allowed him to buy and export pictures on an ambitious scale. Robert Udny, being the wealthier of the two, often supplied the funds for his purchases, keeping some of them for himself rather than speculating, as was his brother's habit (Cf. J. Ingamells, A Dictionary of British and Irish Travellers in Italy 1701-1800, 1997, pp.961-964). When the French invaded Italy, John Udny returned to England, arriving home in 1798 just two years before his death. The most important items in his collection were then put up for sale with James Christie in 1800, followed on May 28, 1802, by a second sale (no.122) that consisted of less important pieces. By this time Robert had also died and the first of five sales of his collections, that devoted to his prints, was held concurrently with that of his brother between May 26 and June 10, 1802. This was followed by a second sale of prints and books (June 11/13) and a sale of drawings (May 4/10, 1803, no.188), all of which were held under the auspices of Thos. Philipe. Robert Udny's paintings, kept in his residence at Teddington, Middlesex, had been offered as a whole for sale by private contract in 1802, at which time a relatively detailed catalogue was issued. This sale did not succeed, leading to the present auction organized by James Christie II.
Like those of his brother, Robert Udny's pictures were primarily from the Italian school, and between the catalogue issued in 1802 and the sale catalogue published by Christie two years later, the provenance for an unusually large number of his paintings is recorded. Twenty-two alone are said to have come from the Salviati collection in Florence, and many others are claimed to have been purchased from prominent Florentine, Venetian, Roman and Neapolitan collections, although hardly any of these has been verified. A few are said to have come from French or English collections. At least fourteen lots can be traced to the first sale of John Udny's pictures held in 1800, presumably having been left unsold and passing through inheritance to his brother. Most of these are grouped together between lots 95 and 106 on the first day of the sale.
The Udny collections -- i.e., those of both John and Robert Udny -- were held in considerable esteem in their day, but it is remarkable how few of the individual pictures have been identified, and there are indications that they might not be recognized as so valuable today if one could find them. The majority of John Udny's pictures put up for sale in 1802 were bought in, and when they reappeared for sale in 1829 as the property of his son, Col. John Robert Udny, the attributions were often to different or anonymous artists, and the prices were generally quite low. However, many of these may have merely been paintings he had failed to sell during his lifetime, while the pictures belonging to Robert Udny were presumably not just the residue of a dealer, but the selections of a collector, who also had the means to be fairly discriminating. Indeed, only seven of the 108 lots in his sale were left unsold -- the catalogue states that there would be no reserves -- but with the exception of the last ten lots on the second day of the sale, the prices were not particularly high. The most expensive lot by far was no.90, a Magdalen by Domenichino, for which the auctioneer Harry Phillips paid £556.10. This was one of three lots bought by Phillips, the other two being no.96, an Annunciation by Poussin (£157.10) and no.76, a Musical Conversation by Giorgione (£107.2). Phillips was no doubt buying on behalf of others, and the pictures by Domenichino and Poussin were apparently intended for Robert Heathcote, in whose sale they appeared the following year (no.322). Both declined in value at the later sale, but not for reasons having to do with their quality. (The Magdalen by Domenichino is now in the Denis Mahon collection, London, and the Annunciation by Poussin is thought to be that in the National Gallery, London.) The painting by Giorgione did not reappear at public sale until 1819, but its price at that sale indicates it was a work of some merit. (It belonged later to Ld. Hertford and is now lost.)
The last two lots in the sale also did quite well: lot 98, a St. Cecilia by Domenichino, was sold to the dealer Chas. Birch for £211.1, and lot 99, Danae by Correggio, was purchased by Caleb Whitefoord for £210. Both of these continued to be held in high esteem throughout the first half of the nineteenth century, but the former is no longer thought to be by Domenichino, nor a work of great importance (it is now in the London National Gallery and attributed to the Roman school), while the second is assumed to have been a copy. Many other works in the collection also failed to retain their renown, although the large majority have never been traced. The few unsold paintings reverted to Col. John Robert Udny and are found in the sale of his collection held on May 15, 1829. The furniture, sculpture and porcelain belonging to Robert Udny was sold by Christie's on July 9/11, 1804. (See also Geo. Redford, Art Sales, I, 1888, pp.90-92, and Wm. Roberts, Memorials of Christie's, 1897, I, pp.70-72.) (B. Fredericksen) | | Catalog Location(s) | CL [annotations used in Sales Contents] Auctioneer's copy, annot. with all buyers and prices.
FLNY [photocopy in Provenance Index Sales Files] Annot. with all buyers and prices.
JPGM I [photocopy in Provenance Index Sales Files] Annot. in ink and pencil with most buyers and all prices, particularly for the second day. It belonged to Wm. Seguier and perhaps earlier to his father David.
ISGB Annot. with most buyers and all prices.
JPGM II [photocopy in Provenance Index Sales Files] Annot. with a few buyers and all prices.
MMNY [photocopy in Provenance Index Sales Files] Annot. in pencil by J. Galpine with a few buyers and comments as well as the dimensions for many lots. They are very difficult to read. All of the prices have been added by a different hand.
VAL I Annot. in pencil with many prices for the second day.
VAL II Annot. in pencil with many prices for the second day.
CIL [photocopy in Provenance Index Sales Files] Annot. with some prices. From the collection of Sir Abraham Hume.
YCNH [photocopy in Provenance Index Sales Files] Not annot.
BMPL Not annot.
RKDH Not annot.
BLO Not annot. | | Photocopies | BMPL (of YCNH) | | See Also | Sale Contents | | | Art Sales Catalogues Online | | | Digitized Catalog - GRI | | | Digitized Catalog - Met | | | |
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