SALE PENDING Francis Dodd R.A. (British 1874-1949) Portrait Arabella Birt Oil on Canvas

Fine Art : Paintings : Oil

 

Francis Dodd R.A. (British 1874-1949); “Miss Arabella Birt”; a portrait of a lady seated before a window, accompanied by her dog, a West Highland Terrier; oil on canvas; signed "Francis Dodd" centre left and dated 1936, titled "Miss Arabella Birt" top left; exhibited Royal Society of Portrait Painters (labels on reverse); mounted in its original gilded, carved wood and gesso frame; 100 x 75cm (39 1/2 x 29 1/2ins) sight (visible canvas) size; frame dimensions 121 x 96cm (47 3/4 x 37 3/4ins)

CONDITION: There are two small scratches at the upper right edge and another on her skirt, where there is an associated tiny flake of paint loss. None of these is particularly obtrusive and we can have our conservators re-touch them on request. Otherwise, the portrait is in exceptionally fine original condition having been, for most of its life, behind glass. The glass has been removed very recently and so the colours are as fresh as when it was first exhibited. There has been no restoration or re-touching at all. The rear of the canvas has been boarded between the stretchers, most likely to prevent the canvas being pushed forward from behind against the original glass. The frame is also in good condition and of good quality, its decorations being of carved wood rather than composition. There are no losses apart from where a few rubbed flakes of gilding and gesso reveal the wood. The seams have opened slightly at the corners.

BIOGRAPHY: Dodd, Francis Edgar (1874–1949) was born in Holyhead, Wales, on 29th November 1874. His family having moved to Glasgow, Dodd attended Garnett Hill School where, in 1889, he began to study painting. It was at this school that he first met his lifelong friend and future brother-in-law, the painter and etcher Muirhead Bone. He went on to study at the Glasgow School of Art, where he won the Haldane travelling scholarship in 1893. He went to the academy of Aman-Jean in Paris but having been advised to do so by J. A. M. Whistler, he travelled to Venice, where he studied Tintoretto, also visiting Florence, Milan, and Antwerp. In 1895 he settled in Manchester, where he developed a close association with the artist Susan Dacre (1844–1933), who modelled for him. He exhibited at the Manchester Academy, and in 1898 was invited by Bernhard Sickert to exhibit at the New English Art Club.

In 1904 he moved to live in London, where his friends were Charles March Gere, Henry Lamb, and Henry Rushbury; all later to become Royal Academicians. He was an official artist to the Ministry of Information during the First World War, producing portraits of British naval and military commanders and afterwards drawing submarines for the Admiralty, which are now held in the Imperial War Museum. Dodd first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1923, was elected Associate in 1927 and Royal Academician in 1935. He was also a member of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters and of the Royal Society of Painters in Water Colours, and a trustee of the Tate Gallery (1929–35).

It was in his portraits that Dodd excelled. Recognised as direct, relaxed, and highly competent, his portraits reveal him as a master of his craft. In 1909 he produced a drypoint of the young sculptor Jacob Epstein, which Bone considered ‘a masterpiece’. He produced a considerable number of fine etchings and, in 1948, gave a complete collection of his prints to the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford.

He was married twice, first on 8th April 1911 to Mary Arabella (1871/2–1948) and on 27 January 1949 to Ellen (Nell) Margaret (b. 1908/9), who had been his model for several years. He had no children by either marriage. Dodd took his own life at his home at 51 Blackheath Park, Blackheath, Greenwich, on 7 March 1949.

Examples of Dodd's work are in the Tate collection, the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, Manchester City Galleries, the Hunterian Art Gallery, Glasgow, the National Portrait Gallery, London, the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, and at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.

14 DAY SATISFACTION GUARANTEE: Should you buy something from us with which you are not fully satisfied, you may return it for a full refund of the price you paid, including shipping. The only conditions are firstly that you must return it in the same condition as that in which you received it, and secondly that you must notify us of your intention to return it within 14 days from the date you received it (this does not affect your statutory rights and longer periods may be agreed in writing, if required).

2 YEAR AUTHENTICITY GUARANTEE: We completely guarantee our items are authentic as described and should expert appraisal doubt the authenticity of something we have sold, we will help arrange for its return and will refund the purchase price including shipping costs, there and back. The only conditions are that evidence of such opinion from a recognised authority must be provided to us within 24 months from date of purchase and you must return the item in the same condition as that in which you received it.

DELIVERY / SHIPPING GUARANTEE: We always pack extremely carefully, use only reputable carriers and are experts at shipping very fragile items worldwide. However, if something does arrive damaged, we will help you to arrange its return and we will refund the purchase price and shipping costs, there and back. Likewise, if something we send you fails to arrive within 21 days of the expected delivery time, we will refund your payment in full.

Item ID: RL-0637