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July 2020
JMW TURNER
Battle of the Nile
Oil on canvas; 46½"x70" (Farebrother - Cox); 1799
See also:
Unknown
Artist 'Battle of the Nile' - Cholmondeley
Other paintings of 'Battle of the Nile' some of which have been
confused with this picture:
The Naumachia (by a different Mr. Turner)
This picture is of interest because it appeared in Christies sale of 27th April 1864. That sale is significant because it is possible that the pictures in a section marked 'Property of a gentleman' (Leonard Huskinson (known as Huskisson) the artist) may have been pictures originally from the collection of Rev. Robert Nixon of Foots Cray and later of Kenmure Castle. Finding Nixon's collection is important to the authentification of 'The Rising Squall...'. 'Battle of the Nile' is lost and is probably in the USA.
Outstanding Issues
Introductory Remarks on 'Battle of the Nile...'
'Battle of the Nile...' was exhibited in 1799 and has been extensively researched.
A quote from Butlin and Joll, No.10 in their 'Text' volume, dismisses a photograph in the Witt Library but offers no explanation.
The Witt material is consistent with two earlier auctions not even mentioned by Butlin and Joll:
So let us dismiss Butlin and Joll who declare themselves to be the 'experts', the 'connoisseurs' yet spew forth only scratchings from fragmentary extracts of other writers and offer no real research at all but enormous amounts of commentary. Their entry at No. 10 cites 'Bell' as their source, presumably Charles Francis Bell, but Bell was a complete idiot elevated to high places by other complete idiots. Having said that, Butlin and Joll are not entirely useless. If one separates the actual factual material from their opinion the fragmentary factual material can lead to other sources.When they quote the 27th April 1864 Christie sale they mis-spell Leonard Huskinson's name yet it is clearly stated in Redford (page 120) [detail]; It does appear that Leonard's father, Henry, unofficially called himself 'Huskisson' and quite possibly Leonard and his brother Robert did also since their entries in RA catalogues use both spellings (although these may have been simple errors)
'Battle of the Nile' is of interest because it appears in the Christie sale of 27th April 1864, said, in the catalogue, to be the 1799 exhibit. In 1864 at the time of the sale the property belonged to Leonard Huskinson the artist. Huskinson was born 1820 so it is unlikely he bought it before 1840 although his father, Henry Huskinson may have bought it and later given it to Leonard and his brother Robert. A likely first purchaser would be Rev. Robert Nixon of Foots Cray. The movements of 'Battle of the Nile...' (if there is a Nixon connection) could therefore be helpful in the search for the provenance of 'The Rising Squall...'.
In 1799 the Anti-Room [sic] exhibits began with No. 255 and ended with 327. 'Battle of the Nile...' was No. 275. The approximate layout would be:
which would place 'Battle of the Nile...', No 275, in the middle of the South Wall (sequence as follows: 264-274, 11 pictures; 275, 'Battle of the Nile...'; 276 to 288, 13 pictures). If it were on the East or West walls it could not be a very large picture due to the restricted hanging widths on these walls; in the middle of the south wall, however, a very large picture could be accommodated.
Also in the Anti-Room at No. 305 was Turner's 'Kilgarran castle on the Twyvey, hazy sunrise, previous to a sultry day' [NT Size: 36" x 48"]. No. 305 would have been on the North Wall. Facing the North Wall the observer would see 'Kilgarran castle...', No. 305 left of centre, the West Wall would be to the observer's left; 'Battle of the Nile...' would be behind the observer. The Turners were on different (opposite) walls. We know that 'Kilgarran Castle' was 36" high x 48" wide, meduim size for the Anti-Room and was offset to the left; observing the 1792 layout we can say that pictures were displayed somewhat symmetrically both by size and artist. The Turners were not symmetrically 'paired' suggesting that they were different sizes. This does not 'prove' that 'Battle of the Nile...' was bigger than 'Kilgarran Castle', 'Battle of the Nile...' could have been a small picture centrally placed below some other large picture. However, this placing does suggest that the sizes were considerably different.
In the Great Room at No. 55 was 'Fishermen becalmed previous to a storm,
twilight' [LOST Size: B&J 15" x 20"; Calcott 15" x 30"];
a small picture. If 'Battle of the Nile...' had been a small picture it
could have been paired with this. At 192 'Harleck Castle, from Twgwyn
ferry, summer's evening twilight' [YALE Size: 34" x 47"] would
have been an obvious pairing with 'Kilgarran Castle...' yet they were
placed in different rooms so there can be no definitive explanation or
conclusions drawn, just a suggestion that 'Battle of the Nile...' could
have been a large picture. Was Turner painting large oils at that time?
Yes. 'Fifth Plague of Egypt' exhibited 1800 was 49"x72"
(Indianapolis).
Finberg 1910 page 42
and page 43 (bottom 2 lines)describes
it as 'a large "Battle of the Nile' (1799)".
There is nothing certain about the size issue except that there is nothing to suggest that 'Battle of the Nile...' could not have been around 4' high x 6' wide. If Rev. Robert Nixon was its first owner it did not descend to his second son Rev. Dr. Francis Russell Nixon, Bishop of Tasmania. It therefore would have been sold or it would have descended to the first son, George Russell Nixon.
From the Christie's sale of 27th April 1864 to a catalogue of the collection of Edward Rathbone Bacon (d.1915) published in 1919 a provenance is emerging. There is, as yet, no definite evidence as to the identity of the first owner.
References in the old Presentation now out of date
07_61 Report of the 27th April 1864 Christie's sale
18_00 Lists of RA exhibits and rooms lists as footnotes
18_04 Comments about first owners - this is under construction
20_95 Footnotes about Nixon, Huskisson and 'Battle of the Nile...'
40_10 List of sales and exhibitions of Turner works based on Graves' 'Art Sales' with other references added
50_40 more about 1864, Huskisson, Gem and Cox (now know that Huskisson is Leonard Huskinson the artist)
70_10 Nixon as a possible first owner (hence the picture's first (other than RA) appearance in 1864
1950 Parke-Bernet New York Lot 41 was Edward R Bacon's picture. The seller was Macomber. (Witt Library 030145 British 014334)
1911 - 1919. In the years 1911 to his death in 1915 it was in Edward R Bacon's collection. Much of his cllection descended to his granddaughter and a catalogue was published in 1919. 'Battle of the Nile...' is described and illustrated; size: 46½"x71".
1911 In New York there was a sale by Blakeslee (Gallery) (no size stated) to a prominent New York collector who could be Edward R Bacon. Blakeslee, it was said, 'secured' it from (Joseph) Prior (Trinity College).
1907 to 1911 possibly in Blakesley's collection or gallery.
1907 Sold by Judge Bronson. buyer unknown $25,000 and it's size shown as
47½"x72". The catalogue shows it previously owned by
(Joseph) Prior (Trinity College) ... the buyer in 1907 could be Blakesley
(thus 'securing it ' from the Prior collection)
Also in 1907 we have a report of the Bronson sale in 'Les
Arts' for 125,000 fr.
1888 - 1907 (Joseph) Prior (Trinity College) collection then Judge Bronson
1888 exhibited at Conduit Street Gallery. B& J show lent by W. Cox.
1886 exhibited at 19th Century Art Gallery. B&J, CF Bell, 1907 American Arts Assn, and Bacon all show this exhibition.
1883 Robinson & Fisher Sale of 27th April 1883 Lot 269; Appears with two other works by JMW Turner.
1882 Farebrother Sale of 13th July 1882, Mr Cox. Farebrother, 13th July 1882 (Cox)At this sale 'Battle of the Nile...' was shown as having been in the collection of Thomas Woolner then exhibited at the Conduit Street Gallery. it's size shown as 46½"x70".
(1879 Cox tried to sell the Monkey "LANDSEER, Sir Edwin",1879,12/20,Christie's,,W. Cox. 68. Monkey and Looking-glass,Bought in,11,11,0,)
1875 to 1882. In the ownership of Cox.
1875 In 1875 Cox bought a Landseer ('Study of Monkey and Looking-glass'; from the Judkin coll. ) from Thomas Woolner's sale Christies 12th June 1875 however, 'Battle of the Nile...' was not in that sale. Would Woolner have placed it in that sale if he still had it? The answer is complicated because a letter from Woolner [........reference needed .................] suggests his reluctance at putting his best pieces in this sale.
1864 to 1875. In the ownership of Thomas Woolner for at least the latter part of this period (note that the Landseer Monkey (oil on canvas, 13¾"x16¾") was also with Thomas Woolner and further the 1864 (Huskinson) catalogue includes a Landseer (Repose). Find the Monkey! Sotheby 27th Nov 2003 [(Landseer (1802-1873)->Rev Thomas James Judkin(1788-1871))...;...1875 Cox buys it; 1879 Cox tries but fails to sell it...;... Christies 8 March 1935 lot 109. bought Howard £16.16/-, ]
1864 Christie taken at face value would be a showing of the picture. Seller Leonard Huskinson (known as Huskisson) bought in.
1799 to 1864. No sightings. The actual question we are interested in is was it Nixon or not?
1799 RA Exhibit [No.275
in the Anti-Room]
Finberg described it as 'large' [Finberg
1910 titlepage / Finberg
1910 page 43 last line]
Butlin & Joll No.10
In the collection of L Huskisson
Here is the Huskisson reference but we have no evidence as to where
it originated. The
27th
April 1864 sale catalogue does not mention 'Huskisson'. Note that B&
J rely on CF Bell for this information. B&J's 'low price' comment
whilst perfectly valid in isolation requires further consideration after
examination of the marked up catalogue - there was something wrong at this
sale; all the prices seem too low, the ms entries are poorly written and
the catalogue was extraordinarly difficult to find.
But Graves gives the date as 1888
B&J does not state which 'Graves' publication
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THE NAUMACHIA
This is a bit of a red herring!. Interesting as it is it has nothing whatever to do with JMW Turner's 'Battle of the Nile'. The RA Exhibition in 1799 ran from 29th April to 15th June. That is, Turner's painting was at the Royal Academy until the evening of 15th June. There is no possibility of it being hung in Silver Street for the opening on 17th June. Moreover, even on a brief reading of the Naumachia brochure this was not a gallery of pictures - it was more theatre than exhibition. Even if the Turner concerned was JMW which is unlikely - it makes no difference to the 'search' for the provenance of 'Battle of the Nile'.
Consequently this section is shaded on the extract.
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THE LARGE PICTURE SAID TO BE THE 1799 EXHIBIT
The first mention of the size of the picture is the Farebrother catalogue of 1882. There follows fairly consistent information until 1919 (Bacon).
Oil or drawing. Whatever the later evidence (Butlin and Joll final para) the contemporaneous evidence say that it was in the Anti-Room - in the centre of the wall. - It must have been a substantial work to attract the commentary in the London Packet and the Morning Post all of which is consistent with the Farebrother description. Most of the evidence suggests that it is an oil
Read Callcott's note like this:
Kilgarran Castle (known now and with National Trust) is also a fine picture but less finished than the others (Fishermen Becalmed, 55 & Harclech Castle, 192 both in the Great Room and perhaps already mentioned in the letter) ...and Battle of the Nile (added as an afterthought to make the comparison with the less finished Kilgarran)...
then the writer turns to 'drawing'.... and is describing 'Caernarvon castle', No. 340 in the Council Room, as being brought nearly to the effect of oil painting...
And recall that Callcott had made a sketch of 'Fisherment Becalmed'. The sketch and the letter were apparently in the same communication.
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1864
1864, April 27th Christies Sale
After this sale the next documented owner is Thomas Woolner RA
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1882
Title and Page 32 - Sale of 13th July 1882
Note that this is Mr. Cox with a well-known gallery
JMW Turner; Battle of the Nile; 46½"x70"; RA 1799,
275; Thornbury, Life of Turner vol 2, p269; from the collection of Thos.
Woolner Esq. RA; exh Conduit Street Gallery.
Woolner (17/12/1825, born Hadleigh, Suffolk; to 7/10/1892 died
London); First RA exhibit 1843 (age 18); In 1852 (age 27) he spent a year
in Australia; married 6/9/1864 (age 39) Alice Gertrude Waugh; In 1874 he
was in Italy; Elected RA 1875; At Christies 1875-06-12 sold at least 10
Turners, a William Hogarth, John Jackson (portrait of D. Wilkie ? buyer
Cox), Landseer (Monkey and Looking Glass - buyer Cox) and many more
clearly a major sale of his collection; served as prof of sculpture at RA
1877-1879; In 1885 his address was: 29, Welbeck Street, Cavendish Sq.
London W. (Websters 1885); 1892, died; two executor sales,
May
18th, 1895 and
May 21st, 1895,
Christies;
From above: rough timeline for Battle of the Nile is
1864-04-27 Christies; Property of a Gentleman; bought in £10/10/-
During this 11 years, 1864 to 1875, aquired by Thomas Woolner RA
Probably before Woolner's sale of 1875-06-12 Battle of the Nile;
seller: Woolner; buyer Cox
During this 7 years, 1875 to 1882,
1882-07-13 Farebrother; seller Cox
1886 and 1888 exhibited at Conduit Street Gallery by Cox?
Joseph Prior of Trinity
lived 1834 to 1918. He had the picture before Bacon 1915; and before
Blakesley (New York dealer) who had it before 1911. Bronson sold it in
1907 (in New York) marked up with Prior as previous owner. Joseph Prior
had the picture before Bronson.
Joseph Prior had not had the picture when Cox sold it in 1882. In
1888 B&J from Graves has the owner as W. Cox; Are the two Cox the same
Cox?. CF Bell 1901, does not mention ownership by Prior but Bell is
unreliable
So Joseph Prior had it between 1888 or possibly 1901 and Bronson (who
sold it in 1907 in New York)
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1886 (July) Reports of the 'Battle of the Nile' on Exhibition at 19th Century Arts Society, London
None of these have been substantiated
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1888 Reports of the 'Battle of the Nile' on Exhibition at the Conduit Street Gallery
This has not been substantiated and it is noted that 'Mr Cox' (with a well known gallery) auctioned the picture in 1882 (see above)
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1901 CF Bell
CF Bell shows that the 'Battle of the Nile' was previously in the
Huskisson collection and the source of this is most probably Redford's
'Art Sales' page
120 (1888). Both Bell and Redford show merely 'Huskisson' but Butlin and
Joll give his initial, 'L. Huskisson'.
Bell's
interpretations are often unreliable but in this entry he just puts
factual information which he has clearly gathered from existing sources.
The meaning of the ms annotations is unclear.
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1907 Exhibition and sale at American Art Associaion
Judge Samuel L Bronson sold the 'Battle of the Nile...' at American
Arts Assn on 15th March 1907
This catalogue does not say who owned it immediately before Bronson
It was however, in the Prior, Head of Trinity College, collection.
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The 1907 Bronson Sale was reported in Les Arts
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A J Finberg; Turner's Sketches and Drawings; (published; Scribner, New York, 1910)
Finberg
1910; in the last paragraph of page 42 he refers to
RA exhibited
'sea' themes, describing 1796 'Fishermen At Sea' as a drawing, including
two of the four 1799 oils, 'Battle of the Nile' and 'Fishermen Becalmed',
in his text.
Then at the bottom of page 43 he describes 'Battle of the Nile' as:
'...a large 'Battle of the Nile' (1799).'
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American Art News - April 29th 1911
Report indicating that Mr. Blakeslee aquired Turner's 'Battle of the
Nile...' before 1911 from the headmaster of Trinity College, Cambridge.
Blakeslee sold it in 1911 to a 'prominent New York collector'.
Please click the image for the full size page.
In 1919 the picture appeared in the catalogue of the collection of Edward Rathbone Bacon who had died in 1915. It is safe to assume that the picture was in his collection at death but the date of disposal is not quite clear.
