Richmond R.A., George (1809 – 1896) – ‘A Shepherd Waking’.
Richmond R.A., George (1809 - 1896)
'A Shepherd Waking'.
Pencil, pen and ink. c.1829/30. Inscribed. Exhibited: Agnew's & W/S Fine Art, 'Missing Pages, George Richmond R.A. (1809-1896)', 2001, Cat. No.8. Provenance: the artist's family and by descent; Agnew's and W/S Fine Art; Private Collection; Christie's, Old Master and Early British Drawings and Watercolours, London, 6th December, 2012, Lot. 288; Abbott and Holder; Professor David Bindman (1940-2025).
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Richmond's early subjects, made in the fertile milieu of Palmer and the Ancients, were biblical, literary and purely pastoral. Some works, such as this, attain to all three. Their meaning is consequently allusive. The figure here is very close to the astonishing reclining nude startled by an owl which was exhibited in the same Agnew's & W/S exhibition in 2001. The figure is clearly inspired by Michelangelo and it is hard not to read the shepherd's outstretched hand as a reference to Adam in the Sistine Ceiling.
See available works by this artist.
This work appears in the Group:
British Works on Paper 2026 (Incl. David Bindman Collection)