| | | | | | | | Document | Sale Catalog Br-1982 | |
| Auction House | Christie's -- from catalog: Mr. Christie | | Sale Location | [No.125] Pall Mall, London, England, UK | | Seller(s) | from catalog: Arthur Champernowne, Esq. Dec.; [and] Sir John Coghill, Bart. Dec.
from auctioneer's copy: [Same]
from other sources: [Bernard Pinney] | | Lugt Number | 9832 | | No. of Painting Lots | 153 | | Notes | Arthur Champernowne was a wealthy landowner whose principal residence was Dartington Hall in Devon. He was briefly a member of Parliament and High Sheriff of Devon, but his principal occupation seems to have been investing in works of art. He often travelled, either in England or on the continent, and records of his activities in the art market exist from 1800 onwards. His investments, generally made in collaboration with the dealers Wm. Buchanan and James Irvine, usually involved works of major importance from Italian sources, especially Genoa. He did keep a collection of paintings in his Devon home, but Farington (Diary, Oct.9, 1809) describes them as being "not of good quality," and his more valuable possessions were apparently left on consignment with various dealers or auctioneers in London for resale. He died in 1819, and the present sale contained his pictures and classical antiquities. These were complemented by a collection of Greek vases belonging to Sir John Coghill, Bart. The antiquities and a group of the lesser paintings were sold on the first day of the sale; the more valuable paintings were kept for the second day, and the catalogue for this portion was also issued separately with its own title page. In addition, the CL copy of the catalogue has an appendix with 34 lots of paintings and drawings that most other copies do not have. The lots in this section have been renumbered by hand from 1-34 to 93-126 in order to follow the sequence found in the main part of the catalogue. In the NGL copy, which appears to be the most definitive, these lots are printed as nos.93-126 and follow immediately after the main portion of the catalogue instead of constituting a separate appendix. The pictures in this latter section are attributed to "a Collector of Distinguished Taste," whose identity is not given but who was evidently the dealer Bernard Pinney. A few of the pictures can be traced to the time of their purchase by Pinney, and others reappeared in his private contract sale of May 13 & ff., 1822. But Champernowne's paintings were the most valuable objects in the sale and it was their presence that made this Christie's most successful sale of the season. The CL catalogue records the totals for both days as £6510.3, which does not include a number of lots that were bought in. Champernowne's pictures brought exceptionally good prices, although they were not comparable to those they might have fetched during better times. Three lots were sold for £430.10: A Holy Family by Andrea del Sarto which had been acquired in Genoa; Murillo's Adoration of the Shepherds, also from Genoa; and a Landscape with St. George and the Dragon by Domenichino. The first two were bought by the French dealer Bonnemaison and after a time on the continent were individually acquired by Ld. Hertford. (Both are now in the Wallace Collection, London.) The third was acquired by the Rev. William Holwell Carr, who later gave it to the London National Gallery. One of Titian's most beautiful paintings, the Noli me Tangere, was sold to Samuel Rogers for just £330.15, and at mid-century was acquired from him by the same institution. Numerous other pictures of comparable importance were sold for even smaller amounts, and for those few collectors with the ability to spend such large sums at this moment, it was an extraordinary opportunity. (See also Geo. Redford, Art Sales, 1888, I, p.118; and W. Roberts, Memorials of Christie's, 1897, I, pp.96-97.) (B. Fredericksen) | | Catalog Location(s) | CL [annotations used in Sales Contents; photocopy in Provenance Index Sales Files] Auctioneer's copy, annot. with a few sellers as well as all buyers and prices. Includes appendix.
NGD Annot. with all prices and some notes. It is contained in a volume of sale catalogues that evidently belonged to Geo. Meade and the annotations may be his.
NGL Annot. with all buyers and prices for the second day only, also indicating which lots were sold and which bought in. It was prepared by Christie for Champernowne's executors and is addressed to Mr. Spedding[?]. It lacks the appendix.
VAL The first day is not annot., but the second is annot. in pencil with a few buyers and in ink with all prices. It lacks the appendix.
FLNY Not annot. It lacks the appendix.
CIL [photocopy in Provenance Index Sales Files] Second day only. Annot. with a few buyers, many prices and a few notes about subsequent provenance. It belonged to Sir Abraham Hume. It lacks the appendix.
RKDH [photocopy in Provenance Index Sales Files] Second day only. Annot. in ink and pencil by the dealer John Smith with many buyers and most prices for lots 32 to the end. It lacks the appendix. | | See Also | Sale Contents | | | Art Sales Catalogues Online | | | Digitized Catalog - Frick | | | |
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