Sir Alfred Munnings (1878-1959) and others - photo 1

Sir Alfred Munnings (1878-1959) and others

Sold
£ 1 638
Auction dateClassic
15.12.2023 11:00UTC +01:00
Auctioneer
CHRISTIE'S
Event location
United Kingdom, London
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 1108865
Lot 66 | Sir Alfred Munnings (1878-1959) and others
Sir Alfred Munnings (1878-1959) and others
Five autograph letters signed by Alfred Munnings (‘Alfred Munnings’) and John Richardson (‘John Richardson’) to Paul Konody, Dame Laura Knight, and an unknown recipient, 1850-[1918]
25 pages, various sizes, one letter from Munnings illustrated throughout with comic marginalia. Provenance: Sotheby's, 25 July 1978, lot 292, and Roy Davids Limited, 25 May 1998.

‘Confound all people who make water colours. Confound all makers of water colour paper. Confound all dam’d colour what pull up when you want to wash over them. Confound all dam’d colours what go black & sad & dull and Confound all things to do with the bally medium whatever’. Munnings writing to Knight complaining about his frustrations over a picture ‘am keeping it until May when I’ll go at it again when there’s no rotten R.A. to think of’ and discussing his work with watercolour, ‘Perhaps one little bright thing done in a morning to save myself from utter damnation was as good as any. I slogged too on an artificial, little, fictional thing of a Postillion & grey horses, and carriage with Victorian ladies suggested – to confound many things as Jorrocks did I should go on in this way’. The present letter illustrated extensively with depictions of Munnings throwing away his watercolour box in disgust and kicking a canvas, alongside a full page depicting scenes from the hunt. The three letters to Konody describing his time capturing scenes from the front, ‘I was quickly made a captain and given a tin hat’, continuing ‘I love France...I stand up on the high chalk cliffs & look over that peaceful valley’. The letter from Richardson confirming a meeting the following day and a note confirming that Copley Fielding will be presenting pictures ready to enter an exhibition.

Munnings was commissioned by Konody to go with a group of artists to France to illustrate scenes of Canada’s war effort. He was attached to the Canadian Cavalry Brigade under the command of General Seely, later Lord Mottistone and sent to the Brigade’s headquarters in Northern France, on the front line near the Omignon River. Although Munnings was not intended to join the front line, he remained here to paint the horses in action until the German offensive of March-April 1918. The paintings of the Canadian Army by the commissioned artists were exhibited at Burlington House in January 1919, and Munnings contributed forty-five of the three hundred and fifty paintings shown.
Auction house category:Letters, documents and manuscripts
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
8 King Street, St. James's
SW1Y 6QT London
United Kingdom
Preview
09.12.2023 12:00 – 17:00
10.12.2023 12:00 – 17:00
11.12.2023 09:00 – 20:00
12.12.2023 09:00 – 17:00
13.12.2023 09:00 – 17:00
Phone +44 (0)20 7839 9060
Email
4FQ.AYGKAGLUQ@FO3G@
Buyer Premium see on Website
Conditions of purchaseConditions of purchase

Related terms

Frequently asked questions

First of all, you should register to be able to purchase at auction. After confirming your email address, enter your personal information in your user profile, such as your first name, last name, and mail address. Choose a lot from the upcoming auction and the maximum amount you want to place on it. After confirmation of your choice, we will send your application by e-mail to the appropriate auction house. If the auction house accepts a request, it will participate in the auction. You can view the current status of a bid at any time in your personal account in the "Bids" section.
Auctions are performed by auction houses and each of the auction houses describes their terms of auction. You can see the texts in the section "Auction information".
The results of the auction are published within a few days after the end of the auction. In the top menu of the site, find the tab "Auctions". Click on it and you will be on the auction catalog page, where you can easily find the category "Results". After opening it, select the desired auction from the list, enter and view the current status of the interested lot.
The information about the auction winners is confidential. The auction winner will receive a direct notification from the auction house responsible with instructions for further action: an invoice for payment and the manner in which the goods will be received.
Each of the auction houses has its own payment policy for the won lots. All auction houses accept bank transfers, most of them accept credit card payments. In the near future you will find detailed information for each case in the section "Auction information" on the page of the auction catalog and the lot.
Shipment of the won lot depends on its size. Small items can be delivered by post. Larger lots are sent by courier. Employees of the auction houses will offer you a wide range to choose from.
No. The archive serves as a reference for the study of auction prices, photographs and descriptions of works of art.