DAVID ROBERTS R.A. (1796-1864) - 'At Malaga', signed and dat...

Hammer

£600

DAVID ROBERTS R.A. (1796-1864) - 'At Malaga', signed and dated March 4th 1833 and further inscribed on the backboard in ink 'To her father's old friend Ellen Mark from Christine Bicknell, June 1866'. Pencil and watercolour, heightened with touches of white, 10 1/4 x 7in.

Provenance: Presumed to have been in the artist's possession until his death; Christine Bicknell (the artist's daughter) by 1866; Ellen Mark; Private Collection, Stockbridge, Hampshire; Thence by descent to the present vendor.

This drawing dates from Robert's trip to Spain in the Spring of 1833. Roberts had commenced this visit to Spain with a stay in Cordoba in late January before moving on to Granada in February.

Malaga was an attractive port when Roberts visited it later in the Spring of 1833. He arrived at Malaga from Granada on the 2nd March and quickly made friends with the resident Consul there - William Penrose Mark. In the perfect position to act as Robert's guide, Mark was only too happy to oblige, later describing the artist as 'good natured' and 'exceedingly talented'. Roberts stayed in Malaga for just over three weeks before travelling on to Ronda via Gibraltar (cf. Katharine Sim, David Roberts R.A. 1796-1864 - A Biography 1985, P.81)

For a sketch made of a landscape at Malaga, dated March 7th 1833, cf. Christie's, December 15th 2010, Lot 88; see also two other drawings by Roberts depicting 'A Moorish Arch, Malaga' Sotheby's, November 30th 2000, Lot 337; and 'Malaga, Spain' Sotheby's July 6th 2010, Lot 263.

In the Yale Centre for British Art, New Haven, C.T. is a pencil and watercolour drawing of the harbour, titled 'The Alcazaba from the Mole, Malaga'.

Even before his 1833 trip, and certainly after it, Roberts had established a reputation as an important architectural artist. If not celebrated, he was on the verge of earning his living now on commissions alone. The trip had taken him not only to Spain but Portugal and Morocco. After visiting Burgos, Madrid, Alcaira, Jerez, Toredo, Granada, Malaga, Gibralter, Cadiz and Seville. He settled down in Spain for several months, working on some of his sketches in oil.

In all he would depart with more than 200 sketches of both people and places, confessing in a letter home 'I begin to doubt whether I shall be able to paint half of them. On his return from Spain, in 1833, several of his sketches were published by Jennings in three issues of 'The Landscape Annual'. In addition, 25 of the Spanish sketches were lithographed and issued in a volume called 'Picturesque Sketches from Spain' by John Murray.

The following year Roberts was elected an associate of The Royal Academy.