Beschreibung:

Christopher Richard Wynne Nevinson A.R.A. (British, 1889-1946) The Thames looking towards Tower Bridge signed 'C.R.W.NEVINSON' (lower right) oil on canvas 46.1 x 61.1 cm. (18 1/8 x 24 in.) Painted circa 1939 Fußnoten Provenance Sale; Sotheby's, London, 14 November 1984, lot 76, where purchased by the present owner Private Collection, U.K. 'For a man whose opinions were so often changeable, his sustained regard for London, Londoners and the English countryside remained satisfyingly constant.' (Jonathan Black, C.R.W. Nevinson, The Complete Prints, Lund Humphries, Farnham, 2014, p.63.) Nevinson termed the capital as 'the City I Love' and referred to himself as a dyed-in-the-wool Londoner. In his autobiography, Paint and Prejudice published in 1938 (a similar date to the execution of the present work), Nevinson's opening passage reads as an ode to his home city. He recalls the story of his birth at home in Hampstead and later, the year that 'the Thames froze over and I was taken to see the ox roasted near Waterloo Bridge. I remember being struck by the great number of sea-gulls near the Adelphi and being told that this was the first time they had come so far inland' (C.R.W. Nevinson, Paint and Prejudice, Harcourt, Brace and Company, New York, 1938, p.4). As a young professional artist he recalls the time 'a bus took me somewhere down to Barking, and there I wandered among my factory chimneys and docks' (ibid. p.56) – the possessive nature of the description emphasising his attitude towards this part of the city, a fondness as Jonathan Black points out which is no doubt related to Whistler, a 'god' in Nevinson's eyes, who had close ties to the area. Nevinson enjoyed great commercial and critical success as a war artist, however he struggled to find purpose once the conflict concluded. He lamented 'The relief that the War was over was tremendous, yet this turned out to be for the me the most repulsive time in my life' (ibid. p156). Nevinson sought new momentum in his work by turning his focus to New York, but was plagued by further personal tragedy in the loss of his son, ill health, diminishing prosperity and a souring of regard amongst the press. Throughout these turbulent decades, London, and especially the Thames yielded a constantly fruitful subject. He painted several fine oils facing and around the river, and produced some of his finest printed works of the same subject. However, by the date of the present oil, in his conclusion to Paint and Prejudice Nevinson strikes a markedly optimistic tone; 'On all sides, I see prejudice disappearing, and my paint being more appreciated' (ibid. p.284). It is with this mood that Nevinson painted the present canvas. A serene and Whistlerian scene of industrious factories, much of the canvas is given over to the river itself, the plays of light and gentle movement of the water taking central stage.