George Price Boyce

Back to catalogue Place Bid or Track Lot Lot No: 76 * George Price Boyce (British, 1826-1897) The Call to Prayer, Gizah signed and dated 'G.P.Boyce/Decr/1861' (lower left) and inscribed 'From a house-top in/Ghizeh./Painted on the/spot in Decr 1861/& exhibited at Gallery/of Soc. of P rs in W.Col rs /in May 1872./G.P.Boyce/West House. Cook's Ground/Chelsea' (on label on reverse) and inscribed in pencil on side of paper support 'taken from the roof top of Dr. Martini's house at Ghizeh. Decr 1861' watercolour 32 x 37cm (12 5/8 x 14 9/16in). Estimate: £2,500 - 3,500, € 3,000 - 4,200 View Condition Report Footnote: The entry in Boyce's diary for May 29th 1861 notes that the artist travelled abroad and then to the Middle East, returning in April 1862. Contact the Specialist to discuss this lot or selling in a future sale Email: Areti Chavale Tel: +44 20 7393 3988 To subscribe to or order a Printed Catalogue quote ref: 19779 Tel: +44 (0) 1666 502 200

Back to catalogue Place Bid or Track Lot Lot No: 48 * George Price Boyce (British, 1826-1897) The Call to Prayer, Gizah signed and dated 'G.P.Boyce/Decr/1861' (lower left) and inscribed 'From a house-top in/Ghizeh./Painted on the/spot in Decr 1861/& exhibited at Gallery/of Soc. of P rs in W.Col rs /in May 1872./G.P.Boyce/West House. Cook's Ground/Chelsea' (on label on reverse) and inscribed in pencil on side of paper support 'taken from the roof top of Dr. Martini's house at Ghizeh. Decr 1861' watercolour 32 x 37cm (12 5/8 x 14 9/16in). Estimate: £4,000 - 6,000, € 4,700 - 7,000 View Condition Report Footnote: The entry in Boyce's diary for May 29th 1861 notes that the artist travelled abroad and then to the Middle East, returning in April 1862. Contact the Specialist to discuss this lot or selling in a future sale Email: Peter Rees Tel: +44 20 7468 8201 To subscribe to or order a Printed Catalogue quote ref: 19571 Tel: +44 (0) 1666 502 200

George Price Boyce, R.W.S. (1826-1897) On the banks of the Teme, Ludlow signed and dated 'G P Boyce. Oct 1872' (lower left) and furthersigned, inscribed and dated 'Equipe sur les bords de la Teme/àLudlow. Angleterre. Oct: 1872. A Mons r et MadameSoubeiran/hommage d'amitié de l'auteur/G. P. Boyce. Août 1878' (onan old label attached to the reverse) watercolour heightened with white and with gum arabic on buffpaper, unframed 7 5/8 x 10¾ in. (19.4 x 27.3 cm.) Monsieur & Madame Soubeiran.

George Price Boyce, R.W.S. (1826-1897) Portrait of Edward Fulliger, seated signed with initials, inscribed and dated 'G.P.B. Aug. 50. Hastings' (lower right) and further inscribed 'Edward Fulliger.' (lower left) pencil 7½ x 5½ in. (19 x 14 cm.) Provenance Philip Street, the artist's nephew and thence by descent. Lot Notes Originally an architect, Boyce was encouraged to take up watercolour by David Cox (1783-1859), whom he met whilst visiting North Wales. He was an acquaintance and avid collector of works by Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1882) and Sir John Everett Millais (1829-1896), and a good friend of John Ruskin (1819-1900), who advised him on subject matter and technique. He primarily studied landscapes and buildings, but the present drawing displays his thorough understanding of the fluidity and attention to detail of the figurative work of his Pre-Raphaelite associates.

George Price Boyce, R.W.S. (1826-1897) The fortified manor house at Stokesay, Shropshire signed and dated 'G.P. Boyce 1874' (lower right) watercolour with touches of bodycolour, unframed 9¼ x 12¼ in. (23.5 x 31 cm.) Lot Notes Boyce was a modest artist who had a highly original vision and a rare talent when tackling landscape composition. He led a comfortable life and was able to travel extensively. He was an avid collector, buying the work of his contemporaries Rossetti, Millais, Burne-Jones, Seddon and Inchbold, as well as Old Master paintings and French watercolours. He is also celebrated for his detailed diaries, which offer a rare insight into the life of the Pre-Raphaelite circle. Boyce was born in London on 24 September 1826, the son of a City wine merchant who changed his profession to pawnbroking and had a very successful career. He finished his education in France and on his return was articled to the architect Mr. Little. He travelled on the Continent in the mid-1840s and then in 1847 joined the firm, Wyatt & Brandon. Boyce was frustrated with his work as an architect's improver. His innate modesty prevented him from having confidence in his talents as an artist but, on meeting David Cox in 1849 he was persuaded to take up painting and give up architecture. Boyce was drawn to the luminosity of watercolours by Girtin and Turner but it was Ruskin who became his mentor and the techniques of the Pre-Raphaelites that became the pervading influence on his work. It was also in 1849 that Boyce joined Thomas Seddon in his life drawing classes and it is here that he is thought to have first met Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Rossetti became a close friend and often looked to Boyce for advice about landscape painting. Whereas Rossetti hated drawing outdoors, Boyce was a painstaking observer who followed Ruskin's call to observe nature in the flesh. He set off on a tour of the Alps and Italy in 1854 as a homage to Ruskin, and kept in close written contact with him throughout the journey. Between 1853 and 1861 Boyce exhibited 12 pictures at the Royal Academy. He also exhibited at the Old Water-Colour Society but was made an associate only in 1864 and a full member in 1878. Boyce's work of the late 1850s and early 1860s shows him at his most Pre-Raphaelite. Like Brett and Inchbold, he painted minutely observed detail in bright colours. He avoided the picturesque and for his daring, almost abstract, compositions he always sought an unusual viewpoint. Boyce enjoyed hard diagonals and dense overlapping elements. He was fascinated by effects of light and shadow. Ruskin once told him that sunset and twilight were easier to paint than sunlight effects, and Boyce appears to have risen to this challenge. Boyce travelled throughout his life, visiting Egypt in 1861. However, his main inspiration was found in the countryside and architecture of England. Of all the Pre-Raphaelites, Boyce was considered to have the greatest sense of everyday life.