CHARLES SIMS, R.A. (1873-1928)

This picture was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1915, the year Sims was elected a full Academician. The title may be a fanciful invention of the artist as neither protagonist is found in the standard classical dictionaries. Sims’s imagination tended towards such whimsicality, but the subject is typical of his work and can be seen as a celebration of the softer months of the year. Originally banners or garlands descended from the basket but these have been painted out. They can be seen in smaller variant entitled Summertime (Christie’s, London, 12 June 1987, lot 63) and a related sketch (Christie’s, London, 29 July 1988, lot 260). A further sketch is in Bury City Art Gallery.
Works by Sims, who was Keeper of the R.A. between 1920 and 1926, can be seen in several public collections, and this picture was lent to the Last Romantics exhibition, staged at the Barbican in 1989.