Walter Richard Sickert A.R.A., (British, 1860-1942)

The Leading Lady's Day Off 76.5 x 56.5 cm. (30 1/8 x 22 1/4 in.)

The Leading Lady's Day Off
signed and dated 'Sickert 1937' (lower left)
oil on canvas
76.5 x 56.5 cm. (30 1/8 x 22 1/4 in.)

Provenance
With Charles A. Jackson, Manchester
Dr K.K. Wood
Sale; Sotheby's, London, 14 November 1984, lot 43
Private Collection, U.K.

Exhibited
Bury, Bury Art Gallery, Steer, Sickert & Epstein Exhibition, 6 Febuary-6 March 1954

Literature
Wendy Baron, Sickert, Paintings & Drawings, Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 2006, cat.no.658

In 1927, Sickert invented a new genre of subject-matter of unabashedly artificial inspiration: his 'Echoes'. For the next thirteen years, he translated the black-and-white illustrations of his Victorian boyhood into full-scale paintings in colour: 'It's such a good arrangement; Cruikshank and Gilbert do all the work, and I get all the money!' In fact, his contribution to the process was considerable. He did not hand-colour black and-white prints, but translated them, with evident verve, into full, modelled, atmospheric colour. His use of ready-made sources anticipates the brazen effrontery of Pop Art by over twenty years.

An 'Echo' which is helpfully ? and unusually - dated, but lacks information on its source. During the 1930s, Sickert ? who began his adult career as an actor in repertory - revived his keen interest in the classical theatre. Among his closest friends were two of the leading ladies of the day, Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies and Peggy Ashcroft. Whether the present somewhat opaque title of the painting was Sickert's invention, or less probably belonged to the original source, cannot be established until the latter is identified. But the Victorian dress confirms that it is not a contemporary subject.

Critical reaction to the 'Echoes' over the years has been divided. They enjoyed huge commercial success during the 1930s, but have been argued over from their inception. While Osbert Sitwell thought their handling proved Sickert to be 'a splendid and audacious innovator', others were alienated by their false sentiment. This response was a misunderstanding of their impetus. Sickert was trying neither to recapture the morality of the Victorian age nor to retell the stories represented by the original illustrators. His focus was on the strength of their designs which easily accommodated enlargement on canvas. With the designs established, he was able to experiment widely in handling, sometimes painting in seductively pretty colours or, as in this example, with an attractive broad handling of dry scumbled paint.

We are grateful to Dr Wendy Baron for compiling this catalogue entry.