Peter Rees
Director, Head of Sales
Lot 92AR,TP
Arthur Spooner(British, 1873-1962)The flower market
27 September 2023, 14:00 BST
London, New Bond StreetSold for £10,240 inc. premium
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Arthur Spooner (British, 1873-1962)
The flower market
signed 'Arthur Spooner' (lower left)
oil on canvas
138 x 165.3cm (54 5/16 x 65 1/16in).
signed 'Arthur Spooner' (lower left)
oil on canvas
138 x 165.3cm (54 5/16 x 65 1/16in).
Footnotes
Exhibited
Nottingham, City of Nottingham Museum and Art Gallery, Local Artists Exhibition, date unknown. Also Derby Art Gallery (according to a label attached to the reverse).
Born in Nottingham, where he lived and worked for most of his life, Arthur Spooner trained at the Nottingham School of Art, where he also taught for many years. He drew much of his inspiration from local scenes and people and was equally adept at painting nudes, portraits, landscapes and scenes of the city, such as the present lot.
Spooner was a founding member of the Nottingham Atelier in 1897, later affiliated to the Nottingham Society of Artists (which had been formed in 1880 and included Harold and Laura Knight), becoming President from 1946-62. After Spooner's death, Edward Seago became president.
The Flower market is grand in both scale and composition. A young girl prepares a bunch of flowers, probably chrysanthemums, to join those already in the wicker basket being held by the central figure. A boy in a cap waters another plant as elegant ladies in the latest fashion mingle beyond. In 1878, Nottingham Castle had been converted into a Museum and Art gallery, which is where the present work was exhibited; indeed Spooner was to show much of his work there during his career.
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