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RALPH N JAMES
PAINTERS AND THEIR WORKS 1897

This publication pre-dates C.F.Bell (1901) by around four years. James' work is a short biography followed by selected auction results. It is of interest because on page 136 (line 1) he writes: 'In 1793 he exhibited at the Royal Academy a "View on the River Avon, near S. Vincent's Rock, Bristol," in oil, and other works in 1796...'

In the light of the works of Peter Cunningham (1852), Samuel Redgrave (1874)('A Century of Painters'), Daryl (1878), Brockhaus 1887 and Tennant (1896) (which preceding James by only one year may not have been available)all of which cited 'The Rising Squall' as the oil and indefinite and contrary statements by Thornbury(1862 and 1877) and Monkhouse (1879) neither of which considered 'View on the River Avon...' to be an oil, Ralph N James seems to have used information from the Royal Academy 1793 catalogue (viz: (i) the picture was in the 'anti-room' thus it must be an oil, (ii) he has quoted the exhibition catalogue title, not the Redford) as the source for his information.

Also of note is that James does not include the Christies 27th April 1864 auction of 'View on the river Avon, near St. Vincent's Rock, Bristol. Exhibited 1793' lot 90 (unspecified as to whether a watercolour or an oil) in his list of auctions. On page 138 he does include the Fripp sale of 9th July 1864 which he will have found in Redford (1888). However, the Redford entry for 'View on the River Avon...' is just two lines below the Fripp sale as 'St. Vincent's Rock, Avon, Bristol exh 1793' sufficiently close, surely, to merit investigation particularly since it supports James' statement in the biography.

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