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Raphael Lamar West
1769-1850
Orlando Rescuing Oliver from the Lion. Verso: Three sketches of heads
Pen and brown ink on paper; verso: graphite.
9 x 12 1/16 inches (229 x 306 mm)
Purchased as the gift of Mrs. Robert H. Charles.
1970.11:10
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Notes:
Watermark: coat of arms with horn surmounted by crown and letters G R.
This drawing was made in preparation for the painting "Orlando and Oliver," which illustrated Act IV, Scene III, of "As You Like It." The painting was executed for John Boydell's Shakespeare Gallery project, where he planned on having thirty five artists contribute 170 paintings depicting scenes from Shakespearean plays. In the end only thirty four paintings were exhibited in 1789, half of which were painted by only four artists.
Provenance:
Estate of the artist; by descent; Harry Margary, the great-grandson of Maria West (daughter of Raphael Lamar West, and granddaughter of Benjamin West); Thos. Agnew and Sons, Ltd., London; from whom purchased 60 drawings, 17 June 1964, and 197 drawings, 15 February 1965, by M. Knoedler and Co., Inc.; from whom purchased 257 drawings by the Morgan Library in 1970.
Associated names:
Margary, Harry, former owner.
Charles, Robert H., Mrs., donor.
Bibliography:
Kraemer, Ruth S. Drawings by Benjamin West and his son Raphael Lamar West. New York : Pierpont Morgan Library, 1975, no. 215, repr.
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