HARDY FORUM ARCHIVE H0100 12/14/00 "QUESTIONABLE STRANG PICTURE OF HARDY" ============================================================== Date: Thu, 14 Dec 2000 09:30:42 -0800 From: Betty Cortus Subject: Questionable Strang picture of Hardy Status: Dear List Members, I was sent the following question late yesterday. The picture doesn't look much like Hardy to me. I would be interested to hear your opinions. Incidently the auction ends Friday, December 14, 2000, and the individual who wrote this intends to alert the auctioneer to his misgivings about its authenticity. Betty Cortus Subject: Re: Strang Picture of Hardy Hi! The atached shows an eBay auction of a Strang picture of Hardy. I don't think this is Hardy - doesn't look like him to me: too robust, too solid a face. What do you think ? Attachment converted: Emma:cache29966.jpg (JPEG/ogle) (00027D8B) Content-Type: text/html; x-mac-type="54455854"; x-mac-creator="4D4F5353"; name="cache50350" Content-Description: Netscape Navigator» Document Content-Disposition: inline; filename="cache50350" >Books: Art > Lot Number:4027 - William Strang drawing of Thomas >Hardy Estimate:$3,000.00 - $4,000.00 Item #:521282275 Location:San Francisco Auction Date:Dec-14-00 10:00:00 Lot no. 4027 STRANG, WILLIAM. 1859-1921. Estimate 3000/4000 Lot no. 4027 Sale no. 7208Z. Colored chalk and pencil on laid paper, being a portrait of Thomas Hardy, 9 by 14 inches, signed ("W. Strang") and dated 1903 at lower left corner, even age-toning, laid down to thin board and framed to 15 3/4 by 22 1/2 inches. William Strang was a popular portraitist and illustrator of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He is famous for his etchings including those illustrating an 1895 edition of {The Pilgrim's Progress} and {The Surprising Adventures of Baron Munchausen}. This is a handsome portrait of the mature Hardy, depicting him at the beginning of the final phase of his literary career as a poet and man of letters (having left off novel-writing in 1898). It is also a fine example of Strang's artistry. \{See Illustration.} All lots will be available for preview in our San Francisco Gallery (located at 220 San Bruno Avenue between 15th & 16th Streets) from Friday the 8th of December to Sunday the 10th of December, 9am to 5pm each day. Our gallery may be reached a Important: If you win this auction, a buyer's premium will be added to your bid. Lot 4027 - William Strang drawing of Thomas Hardy Item #521282275 Starts at: $ 1,500.00> ========== Date: Thu, 14 Dec 2000 14:16:01 -0400 From: Richard Nemesvari Organization: St. Francis Xavier University Subject: Re: Questionable Strang picture of Hardy I would have to agree that this portrait is very questionable - at least as one of Hardy. Aside from the appearance, which doesn't match TH very well, the date is more than a little suspect. According to Michale Millgate's biography, Strang prepared his portrait of Hardy in September of 1910 (Millgate p.470). Martin Seymour-Smith's biography confirms the year, and notes that Hardy had "his portrait done by William Strang (who had painted him seventeen years earlier, in 1893) over the weekend of 23-26 September" (Seymour-Smith p. 740). The date on the picture is given as 1903, which obviously doesn't match either the earlier or later sitting. I'd say this is a major case of caveat emptor. Richard Nemesvari Department of English St. Francis Xavier University rnemesva@stfx.ca ========== Date: Thu, 14 Dec 2000 14:03:55 -0500 From: Rosemarie Morgan Subject: Re: Questionable Strang picture of Hardy o: Status: Note: you could try comparing the eBay picture with the Strang portrait of TH which is online on "TTHA "Resources" page and TTHA "Hardy Society" page. Cheers, Rosemarie ========== Date: Thu, 14 Dec 2000 11:00:29 -0800 From: Betty Cortus Subject: Re: Questionable Strang picture of Hardy A Further Note: I just checked _The Oxford Reader's Companion to Hardy_ under the heading "Portraits and sculptures of TH," and learned that Strang made ten portraits in all of Hardy, from the 1990s to 1920, drawings, etchings, and oils. But I still doubt if this is one of them. Betty Cortus ========== From: "Robert Goddard" Subject: Re: Questionable Strang picture of Hardy Date: Thu, 14 Dec 2000 20:34:44 -0000 Dear All, You might be interested to learn that the NPG has a reasonable collection of Strang portraits. I hope that the following URL will take you directly to them: http://www.npg.org.uk/live/search/person.asp?search=sa&sText=strang&LinkID=mp04330&role=art Best wishes, Robert Goddard. ========== Date: Thu, 14 Dec 2000 15:36:59 -0600 From: Bill Morgan Subject: Re: Questionable Strang picture of Hardy Hardy list: Sorry for the bad link. Try this one: http://www.npg.org.uk/live/search/portrait.asp?search=ss&sText=Sir+Emery+Wal ker&LinkID=mp05876&rNo=0&role=sit cheers, Bill Morgan Hardy list-mates: I've just had a look at the NPG's Strang holdings (thanks to Robert Goddard's tip about the searchable database), and it looks to me as if the ebay item is another Strang portrait of Sir Emery Walker. You can see the NPG's Strang of Walker at http://www.npg.org.uk/live/search/portrait.asp?search=sa&sText=William+Stran g&LinkID=mp04330&rNo=8&role=art I wonder what others think. cheers, Bill Morgan ========== Date: Thu, 14 Dec 2000 18:57:08 -0500 From: "Suzanne J. Flynn" Subject: Re: Questionable Strang picture of Hardy Fellow literary-portrait sleuths, Like Bill, I suspect the portrait up for auction is more likely a likeness of Sir Emery Walker than TH. I called the San Francisco auction house that held the auction this morning, and I was relieved to learn that the Strang portrait did not sell. I've also left a message for the alleged expert in charge, suggesting that she compare the Strang portrait with those on the NPG website. It's nice to know that we may be able to save someone from paying a Thomas Hardy price for a Sir Emery Walker portrait. Cheers-- Suzanne Flynn Gettysburg College ========== Date: Thu, 14 Dec 2000 18:38:58 -0600 From: Bill Morgan Subject: Re: Questionable Strang picture of Hardy Suzanne, you're a good citizen! Well done! cheers, Bill Morgan ==========