William Frederick Yeames - Dr Harvey and the Children of Charles I

LONDON.- On Thursday, 13th July, in Sotheby’s London sale of Victorian and Edwardian Art.

In the same sale, a rediscovered painting by William Frederick Yeames (1835‐1918) has not been seen or recorded since it was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1871. Dr Harvey and the Children of Charles I, estimated at £80,000‐120,000, showcases an incident during the English Civil War, a popular period for Victorian artists to mine for their subjects (illustrated left). It depicts King Charles I’s young sons accompanied by their tutor, Dr Harvey, looking on the Battle of Edgehill (the first pitched battle of the Civil War, fought in southern Warwickshire on Sunday, 23rd October, 1642). Yeames treats the subject with humour as he contrasts the alert concentration of the children with the oblivious calm of their guardian, who remains engrossed in his book. Yeames became famous for his Royal Academy exhibit of 1878 And When did you Last your Father?, one of the most beloved paintings of the Victorian era.