BONHAMS TO SELL MILLAIS’ SLEEP-WALKING MASTERPIECE
PAINTING BY SOUTHAMPTON-BORN ARTIST WAS INSPIRED BY ‘THE WOMAN IN WHITE’
The Somnambulist by Pre-Raphaelite artist Sir John Everett Millais, PRA will be a highlight of the 19th Century Paintings auction on 13th July 2011 at Bonhams New Bond Street. It is estimated to sell for £70,000-100,000.
“The Woman in White” by Wilkie Collins was published in 1860 and proved immensely popular – it is thought that it may have provided Millais with inspiration for this painting. At the time, the Victorians were fascinated by sleepwalking and preoccupied with all things occult and dreamlike. They were interested in clairvoyance, seances and poltergeists and this ghostly picture of a fragile and vulnerable looking girl would have appealed greatly to contemporary taste.
On it’s completion in 1871 the work was reviewed in The Illustrated London News which describes, “the fair figure of the somnambulist, and the accompanying night effect, with the mysterious, half-iridescent glimmer of an unseen moon on the sleepwalker’s nightdress… Her peril as she walks with wide-open yet unseeing eyes along the verge of the sea-cliffs is intimated without the least approach to obtrusive sensationalism”.
Born in Southampton, Sir John Everett Millais (1829-1896) was a founding member of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in 1848. His later works, such as The Somnambulist show a greater freedom of expression and reveal the influence of the American artist Whistler. He was President of the Royal Academy from February 1896 until his death in August 1896.
Charles O’Brien, Head of 19th Century Pictures at Bonhams comments, “This ethereal-looking work of a vulnerable girl in her delicate Victorian nightgown beautifully shows the development of Millais’ later, looser style of painting. We are delighted to be offering such an unusual and entrancing work by arguably the most important Victorian artist of his generation.”
Bonhams
Bonhams, founded in 1793, is one of the world's oldest and largest auctioneers of fine art and antiques. The present company was formed by the merger in November 2001 of Bonhams & Brooks and Phillips Son and Neale UK. In August 2002, the company acquired Butterfields, the principal firm of auctioneers on the West Coast of America. Today, Bonhams offers more sales than any of its rivals, through two major salerooms in London: New Bond Street, and Knightsbridge, and a further five throughout the UK. Sales are also held in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Carmel, New York and Boston in the USA; Toronto, Canada; and France, Monaco, Hong Kong, Australia and Dubai. Bonhams has a worldwide network of offices and regional representatives in 25 countries offering sales advice and valuation services in 57 specialist areas. By the end of 2009, Bonhams had become UK market leaders in ten key specialist collecting areas. For a full listing of upcoming sales, plus details of Bonhams specialist departments, go towww.bonhams.com
