John Atkinson Grimshaw - Forge Valley, near Scarborough

signed and dated l.l.: Atkinson Grimshaw/ 1878

oil on canvas
22 by 17 1/2 in
http://www.sothebys.com/app/live/lot/LotDetail.jsp?sale_number=L05133&live_lot_id=5

80,000—120,000 GBP
Lot Sold. Hammer Price with Buyer's Premium: 120,000 GBP

Forge Valley, Near Scarborough was a favourite title and composition for Grimshaw who painted several versions of this picture depicting a country lane in the quiet wooded gorge a few miles west of Scarborough. The first version appears to have been painted in 1875 (private collection), lower in tone than the present picture and a horizontal composition. Alexander Robertson has explained the importance of the views at Forge Valley thus, 'Grimshaw transformed one of his most popular subjects, that of a lane with a lonely figure, into an evening scene with a farmer returning from the fields. Forge Valley, near Scarborough is one of Grimshaw's most successful creations... with finely observed detail in the road tracks and shadows. At his best Grimshaw never loses his ability to refine these touches. Such a simple scene does embody the artist's recurrent theme of toil, but instead of dwelling on this, the subject is subsumed into an overall poetic mood.' (Alexander Robertson, Atkinson Grimshaw, 2004, pp. 70-71).

A vertical painting of A Moonlit Lane, Forge Valley Near Scarborough is also known to date from 1875, a darker nocturnal scene depicting the same lane with a woman and infant making their way home. Another version (a horizontal painting) is known from 1877, in which a solitary female figure takes the place of the cart present in the 1880 version. The present lot appears to be the richest in colour and most dramatically lit and although the paintings depict the same lane the images are very different. Although they should be termed versions as they share the same composition, the treatments are very different in terms of colour, lighting and mood, the most important elements of Grimshaw's work. The scene offered endless varieties for Grimshaw as the light changed, or as the seasons cast their different aspects upon the trees.

In the mid 1870s Grimshaw began to rent a house on the sea-front at Scarborough, called Castle-by-the-Sea. Although Grimshaw had already painted several views in Scarborough and the surrounding countryside, his residence at Castle-by-the-Sea allowed him to paint more scenes in this area, including the views of Forge Valley and also at the nearby Yew Court. The present painting was made after Grimshaw left Scarborough due to financial hardships which meant that he ceased to rent Castle-by-the-Sea.