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VERY FINE ORIGINAL LANDSCAPE BY ROBERT GALLON (ENGLISH, 1845-1925)
”The Sawmill”, signed and dated lower right, probably c. 1884
Item # 604PDA12Q
The opposite view of this exceptional painting by Robert Gallon is held in the Lancaster Maritime Museum in Lancaster, United Kingdom; this work is painted from the opposite side, looking down the river at the mill and bridge from above the dip in the river. A work of unreal quality and detail, the finely executed landscape captures the incredible diversity of color in the foliage and forest behind the old sawmill. The rugged and aged exterior of the mill is captured perfectly, the worn stone beautifully rendered under the crackling wooden roof shingles. The horses and figures beside the mill are difficult to make out, but the story is completed in the opposite view, where the white horse pulls a large wagon with a gnarled and long tree trunk tied to the structure, a man on top of the cart unstrapping the log to be processed in the mill. It leads the viewer of the present example to wonder if the lone figure captured on the bridge is actually Robert Gallon superimposing himself into the scene, as that is exactly the vantage point the second painting would have been pictured from. This work is being sold in it’s current unrestored condition (see notes below), but we can certainly make arrangements to have it fully cleaned and restored for you upon request (this can have up to six months of processing time depending on our conservator’s schedule). It presents in a most powerful way, being housed in an early and finely hand carved gilded frame with hints of the red bole coming through the brilliant burnished surface. The back of the painting retains an early Christies label with reference number EV349; the reverse of the canvas retains the original stamp from painting supply firm Windsor and Newton in London. For serious collectors of England’s more accomplished landscape painters, this is an outstanding acquisition.
Literature: E. Benezit Dictionary of Artists, Vol. V, Gründ, 2006, p. 1279-80
Measurements: [frame] 20 1/2” H x 30 3/8” W x 2 1/2” D; [canvas] 13 1/4” H x 23 1/4” W
Condition Report:
Original lining with patch to reverse of the center of the bridge, this with accompanying inpainting visible under UV. Touch up in center of sky under UV. Tiny hole in trees (above roof), loss in trees (above white horse), loss at base of stone wall (low-center). Hairline cracks and other age appropriate wear to frame. Painting could benefit from a cleaning, as the sky is probably a brighter mid-day hue.