Live Auction 7435British Works on Paper
Benjamin West, P.R.A. (1738-1820)
Lot 33

Benjamin West, P.R.A. (1738-1820)

Study for 'A mighty Angel standeth upon the Land and upon the Sea' (illustrated); Study of an eagle on a perch (recto); Study of a portrait in a wreathed frame (verso); and Study of a shell

Closed21 November 2007

Price Realised

GBP 1,125

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Benjamin West, P.R.A. (1738-1820)
Study for 'A mighty Angel standeth upon the Land and upon the Sea' (illustrated); Study of an eagle on a perch (recto); Study of a portrait in a wreathed frame (verso); and Study of a shell
one indistinctly inscribed (upper right)
black and white chalk on grey-blue paper, (1) on two joined sheets, (3) unframed
14½ x 9 in. (36.8 x 22.8 cm.) (3)

The artist's family, and by descent to
Mrs P. Howard; Sotheby's, London, 22 March 1979, parts of lots 9 and 11, where purchased by the present owner.

Specialist note

This study of the Angel of the Sun for A Mighty Angel Standeth upon the Land and upon the Sea has been dated to circa 1797-8, and is a preparatory sketch for one of the paintings on an apocalyptic theme commissioned by William Beckford for the decoration of the Revelation Chamber at Fonthill Abbey. The location of the finished painting was unknown in 1986 (see von Erffa & Staley, loc. cit.). For futher studies for another work from this series of paintings, The Woman clothed with the Sun, see lots 34 and 35.