Henry Moore R.A. R.W.S (1831-1895) The clearness after rain Signed and dated 1887

Henry Moore R.A. R.W.S (1831-1895)

The clearness after rain

Signed and dated 1887, also signed, titled and inscribed with artist's address on a label verso

Oil on canvas

122 x 183cm; 48 x 80in

Provenance:

Louis Huth of Hawkhurst, Sussex and Mayfair by 1888

His sale, Christie’s 30^th May, 1905, Lot 62

Where purchased by Thomas Agnew & Sons, London

For Thomas Pilkington

And by descent to his grandson

Exhibited:

Royal Academy, 1887, No. 659

Glasgow, 1888, No. 80

Exposition Universelle, Paris 1889, No. 108

Loan Collection of Works by the ‘Moore’ family of York, York, 1912, No. 135

This work by Moore was considered by the critics as one of his masterpieces when it was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1887. Two years later it was exhibited at the Exposition Universelle in Paris and the French were astounded by the quality of the picture. Moore was awarded a Médaille d’honneur – one of only two awarded to British artists and then he was awarded the Chévalier of the Legion d’honneur, the highest honour for a French citizen and rarely awarded to foreigners. Although he was always a difficult character Moore, in the end, had to be accepted as a full member of the Royal Academy, as the praise for his work was so extensive. In France he was considered to be one of the finest painters in Europe and the blue that was the hallmark of his sea paintings was named ‘la note bleu de Moore’. The studies for this painting were made at sea, as he often did, on a voyage from Cherbourg to the Isle of Wight and the conditions that day were especially clear and atmospheric. He would often produce numerous small studies to complete one picture and strove to depict nature as exactly as possible. He is still regarded as one of the greatest sea painters of any era.