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Description: STUDY FOR 'THE BUNCH OF GRAPES TAVERN'

measurements note
27 by 38.5 cm., 10¾ by 15¼ in.

oil on panel

PROVENANCE

Presumably painted for the Duke of Bedford;
Presumably by family descent at Woburn Abbey;
T. Waller in 1904

EXHIBITED

Arts Council of Great Britain, James Ward Memorial Centenary Exhibition, 1960, no.31 (lent by Lord Hesketh);
Northampton Central Museum and Art Gallery, Exhibition of Country Life Pictures from Northamptonshire Houses, 8th October - 5th November 1966, lot 71

LITERATURE

Oliver Beckett, The Life and Work of James Ward, R.A., 1995, p.118

NOTE

Painted circa 1822 the present painting is a sketch for a larger painting which was commissioned by the Duke of Bedford for 500 guineas, and exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1827 (no.64) as Sides All. The exhibited painting remained at Woburn Abbey until 1951 when it was acquired by Lord Hesketh. It is possible to discern the misty outine of St Paul's Cathedral in the distance, and it is likely that the composition is set in Kensington, where there is still a pub called The Bunch of Grapes.