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Dimensions: measurements note 127 by 76 cm., 50 by 30 in.

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Notes: PROPERTY OF A GENTLEMAN
The early history of this major painting by Draper is not known and no record has been found of it being exhibited or illustrated during the artist's lifetime. However the picture can be dated from studies for the composition in a pocket-sized sketchbook (private collection). These sketches are drawn on pages which follow figure drawings for Flying Fish of 1910 (FIG 1. private collection) and therefore it is assumed that By Summer Seas was painted in 1910 or 1911. Figure sketches for The Mountain Mists (Christie's, 30 November 2000, lot 21), a painting begun in 1911, are drawn on the same page as a composition drawing for By Summer Seas. It is likely that By Summer Seas was painted as a private commission for one of Draper's patrons, possibly John Hall of Charnes Hall in Eccleshall who is known to have purchased other works from the artist during this period of his career. A barely legible note in Draper's appointment diary for 1910 mentions a commission for a 'Lord ----', but unfortunately it is impossible to read the full name. This picture was not included in Simon Toll's 2004 catalogue raisonné of Draper's work.

The years after the turn of the twentieth century were particularly successful for Draper, following the public and critical acclaim of The Lament for Icarus exhibited in 1898 and bought for the Nation under the terms of the Chantrey Bequest (now at Tate). This painting remains Draper's most famous picture and is one of the most popular paintings hanging at Tate Britain. The Lament for Icarus did not make Draper's name, as he had already achieved critical success for earlier paintings, but it did make his work popular among visitors to the Royal Academy exhibitions. In the twentieth century Draper continued to paint fantasies set beside the sea, of sea-nymphs, ondines, sirens and sea-witches. In 1909 he painted Ulysses and the Sirens depicting the dangerous enchantresss of classical mythology, assaulting Ulysses' ship and threatening the terrified men aboard. Draper was complimented for his depiction of nubile female flesh and in 1910 he painted Flying Fish, which depicts a naked girl moving at speed through the ocean waves in pursuit of the airborne fish. With By Summer Seas Draper created a more tranquil image.

By Summer Seas is an unusual picture by Draper as it appears to depict two mortal women idling beside the ocean, rather than sea-nymphs or goddesss. The setting was almost certainly painted at Little Sark where Draper regularly holidayed with his family. It was on Little Sark that he painted studies for the backgrounds of many of his paintings, such as Calypso's Isle of 1897 and A Waterbaby of 1900 (both Manchester City Art Gallery), Ariadne Deserted by Theseus of 1905 (whereabouts unknown) and The Lament for Icarus. The coast around the Channel Islands is littered with boulders and high craggy cliffs which Draper found ideal for the settings for his paintings, whilst depicting the blue and green hues of the ocean in the summer sunlight allowed him to display his colourist panache. Within this sunlit coastal idyll he painted two beautiful women, based upon studies made in his Abbey Road studio of his two favourite models of this period, Hilda Edgell and Jessie Morris. Jessie Morris, a professional artist's model and stage performer also posed for all three figures in The Mountain Mists whilst Hilda Edgell was the model for The Kelpie of 1913 (FIG 2. Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight). Although the pose adopted by Hilda for By Summer Seas was replicated in The Kelpie, Draper used different figure sketches for each picture.