Accession Number

2010.014b

Description

A framed watercolour painting of the Rhone Valley, the mountainous scene with two or three people, above them a house, to the left down a hillside a brown-roofed building with smoking chimney, the artist's signature, "H Whatley" at lower right.

Narrative

This gilt-framed watercolour painting titled Rhone Valley by Henry Whatley (British, 1842-1901) has an important history of use by the Dunsmuir family which is outlined below. It is also an attractive picture in excellent condition.

History of Use

This gilt-framed watercolour painting titled Rhone Valley was painted by Henry Whatley (British, 1842-1901) and sold as Lot#245 at the 1939 Hatley Park auction conducted by Maynard & Sons Auctioneers. The buyer was Arthur Frederick Priestly (b.1887), a dealer of used furniture operating a store on Fort Street.

Mr. Priestly did not sell the picture, but instead kept it and later gave it to his daughter. He told her that he had attended the Hatley auction and purchased the painting there. She contacted Craigdarroch Curator Bruce Davies in October, 2010 and told him that she wished to sell the picture. She was simultaneously consulting with auctioneer Jeff Dean at Kilshaw’s Auctioneers where she consigned the picture. Kilshaw’s then sold the work to Craigdarroch on December 9, 2010.

The auctioneer compiling descriptions for the 1939 Hatley Park auction catalogue erroneously recorded the signature as “H. Whurton”. Such a mistake is understandable when one views Whatley’s signature. Whatley was especially known for the illustrations he produced for the Illustrated London News.

In February 2020, historian Jim Wolf discovered that James Dunsmuir loaned the picture for an exhibition at Victoria City Hall in December 1895. This demonstrates that the picture was used by the Dunsmuirs at their house Burleith on Victoria's Gorge waterway before it went to Hatley Park. See: Victoria Daily Colonist, December 18, 1895, page 3 "Treasures of Art" 
https://archive.org/stream/dailycolonist18951218uvic/18951218#page/n2/mode/1up 
(last accessed April 20, 2020)

 

Date

circa 1890

Dimensions

32 x 46 cm

Material

Paint, watercolour; Paper

Artwork Title

The Rhone Valley

Medium

Watercolour

Technique

Painted

Inscription

Rhone Valley

Country of Origin

Republic of France