Edwin Lord Weeks (American, 1849-1903) Caravansary at Shiraz, Persia

Description:

Edwin Lord Weeks (American, 1849-1903)

Caravansary at Shiraz, Persia alternatively titled A Persian Caravansary
Signed "E.L. Weeks" l.r., with the artist's estate sale stencil on the reverse, title and date "c. 1894" provided in Christie's auction catalog online entry (see below),alternate title in earlier publications (see below).
Oil (en grisaille) on canvas mounted to board, 15 1/4 x 18 1/4 in. (38.5 x 46.5 cm),framed.
Condition: Mounting bubble to l.l. corner, minor retouch at edges of the composition u.l. and l.l., accretions, surface grime.

Provenance: Edwin Lord Weeks Estate Sale, March 15-17, 1905, as Lot 4 (A Persian Cavaransary); through to Christie's New York, American Watercolors -Drawings-Paintings and Sculpture of the 19th and 20th Centuries, March 11, 1988, Lot 65 (as Caravanseray [sic] at Shiraz, Persia); to the current private collection.

Literature: Edwin Lord Weeks, From the Black Sea Through Persia and India (New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1896),illustrated p. 115; American Art Galleries, Robert B. Woodward, and Francis Davis Millet, Catalogue of Very Important Finished Pictures, Studies, Sketches and Original Drawings by the Late Edwin Lord Weeks (New York: American Art Galleries, 1905),as Lot 4 A Persian Caravansary.

N.B. Edwin Lord Weeks was born in 1849 in Newton, a suburb of Boston. His parents were wealthy spice and tea merchants able to support their son's artistic education and travels in Europe and the Near East. In Paris, Weeks studied with Léon Bonnat and was influenced by Jean-Léon Gérôme at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. Like Gérôme, Weeks was fascinated by Oriental subject matter, and as a student he traveled to North Africa, Spain, and the Middle East. His exotic subjects were well received upon his return to Boston, where his paintings were exhibited at the Boston Art Club. However, as his career progressed, Weeks was more widely revered in Europe, particularly in France and Germany, and he eventually moved to Paris with his wife to continue to travel, paint, and write. In 1896 he was made a Knight of the Legion of Honour, and the French government purchased one of his paintings for the Musée du Luxembourg. His most famous works remain his Orientalist scenes from his trips to Morocco, Persia, and India, depicting landscapes and scenes of everyday life that capture the romantic beauty of the lands and people. Weeks used his paintings to illustrate numerous magazine articles and books about his travels, one of the most notable being From the Black Sea Through Persia and India, published in 1896, in which the painting at hand is illustrated in the section describing Shiraz (p. 115).
Estimate $7,000-9,000

Framed dimensions are 22 3/4 x 26 x 2 1/2 inches.

The retouch is very minor and visible only under intense UV light. There are a few touches to the u.l. corner, and one small diagonal line to l.l. corner.

The estate stamp on the reverse reads, "EDWIN LORD WEEKS SALE/MARCH 15, 16, & 17, 1905" Beside it is the number 4 in chalk, which is the lot number from the estate sale. The reverse is also marked boldly "...Lot 65," which must relate to the Christie's New York sale in 1988.

The presentation plaque on the frame lists an incorrect title, "North African Scene."


Items may have wear and tear, imperfections, or the effects of aging. Any condition statement given, as a courtesy to a client, is only an opinion and should not be treated as a statement of fact. Skinner shall have no responsibility for any error or omission.

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