£5,000 - £8,000
Stanhope Alexander FORBES, R.A (1857-1947) Desirée at the Piano, Oil on canvas, 47x32cm and 65x50.5cm including frame. Private collection, Brittany.Anonymous sale; Christie's, London, 21 November 1995 lot 100Sale Christie's, London 12 July 2012 lot 249 Note: Desiree is the model for the girl in the foreground of Forbes' A Street Scene in Brittany (1881) of whom Forbes wrote 'always the same beautiful girl, she grows more perfect every day and seems to be as charming as she looks but, I fear this is not the case' it transpired that Desiree had been dismissed for stealing from the hotel in Cancale where Forbes was staying. Desiree herself had threatened to leave and Forbes's attempts to ensure her constant attendance by keeping back some of her pay until the painting was completed were foiled by her refusal to sit at all until she was paid in full The canvas is un-lined and on its original stretcher which is providing good support. There is a small patch covering a very small hole in the canvas which has been filled in on the sitter's dress, under UV light small amounts of inpainting in this region and scattered spots throughout the image particularly at extreme edges but those are not apparent to the naked eye. The picture has been cleaned and re-varnished.
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