Ethel Gabain (1883-1950)
The Little French Bride
£8,500
Frank Cadogan Cowper (1877-1958)
Fanny
Watercolour and pencil on paper; signed and titled, inscribed on old backboard 'Sketch of a girl in crinoline dress/ by Frank Cadogan Cowper A.R.A/ 1 Edwardes Square Street/ Kensington/ Fanny Stevens, the shoemaker's daughter of Fairford, Glos./ Drawn in January 1903/ Given to the Sale in aid of the "Red Cross" Fund at Christie's March 1915'
12 ¼ x 10 ¼ inches
£4,800
Sometimes called 'The Last Pre-Raphaelite' because he continued painting in that manner until his eighties, Cowper sketched this pretty study of Fanny Stevens, a shoemaker's daughter, when he was 26, just after leaving the RA schools. According to the 1901 census, Fanny Stevens was the daughter of Eliza Stevens, a 'Boot and Shoe Shop Keeper' at 114 London Street, Fairford, Glos., living with her widowed aunt and sister. She was sixteen when this was painted in 1903. Cowper later recalled his months spent at Fairford as 'the most delightful time of my life.'
Our thanks to Scott Buckle.