Colin H on TH White
Here’s a conundrum that Afterworders might find interesting: what to do with a painting – unique in the wild, with no other precedents at auction – by a significant mid-20th century literary figure?
TH White (1906–64) is well-known as the author of ‘The Sword in the Stone’ and other Arthurian tales (and much other writing). He painted only as a hobby – one rather fantastical self-portrait, used on a book cover, being the only THW painting that appears via Google.
My good pal Mark Shields – a long-established painter by trade and vocation – currently has the marine painting shown above (Oil on canvas, 70cm x 40cm), holding it on behalf of its owner, trying to find a good home for it. Which has turned into a bit of saga.
The painting was bought at auction in September 1981 by a resident of Alderney and depicts the four-master ship ‘Liverpool’, which ran aground on Alderney in 1902. White lived on the island from 1946 until his death in 1964. The painting, signed in White’s distinctive monogram and dated ‘49, was based on an old postcard that was reproduced in a book entitled ‘The Channel Islands’ by the art dealer Harald Eggert, who was also the husband of the buyer. The painting is currently owned by a relative of the original owner’s second husband.
As Mark says:
‘Amongst accompanying documents kept by the original buyer (who died in 1997) is an invoice for the cleaning and retouching of the work in 1981 by London conservator Clare Finn (who is still practising today). There is also mention in a letter that the dark cloud at top right is supposedly a profile self portrait of White and that the painting was intended as a gift for the actress Julie Andrews who starred in the musical ‘Camelot’, based on White’s book. (White had apparently built a theatre and music room for Andrews on Alderney). A film crew from Norddeutscher Rundfunk visiting Alderney to make a film on White called with the owner to view the painting.’
So, no problem on the provenance front – nothing to furrow the brows of Mould and Bruce, and probably not potentially valuable enough to bother the makers of their TV show (despite the opportunity for a good bit of delving into the life of THW).
Is there not an official archive of White’s work, you ask? Well, yes: the Harry Ransom Centre, part of the University of Texas, holds a collection of White’s manuscripts and papers as well as paintings and drawings by the author. Mark has been in touch but the situation is complicated. Donating a painting from the UK to a university in the US is trickier than you might think and there would be customs implications. On the other hand, the University is not allowed to purchase items for its collections from individuals – it can only be via ‘reputable auction houses and dealers’. Mark has been in touch with the art departments of some of these, but as they can’t be sure that the painting is worth over £1,000 (a threshold for sales of art at the top auction houses), they won’t accept it. Remember, bar this same painting being auctioned in 1981, no TH White paintings have ever come to market. Bit of a catch-22…
One solution might be to wait for 20th century / fantasy literature auctions – in which the painting may possibly be accepted (by books departments) not as art but as a curio from the hand of a noted author. Another option would be to flush out a diehard TH White connoisseur, who might be delighted to provide a home to the painting (not for free, but for a modest purchase price – the ‘good home’ being key to the vendor but also a token of worth).
So perhaps this post will indeed come to the attention of TH White diehards, if such exist. Any other suggestions from AW regulars would be welcome!
An interesting short film of White on Alderney (BBC Monitor) can be found here (with the warning that it’s presented by Robinson Robinson – ‘Tish, bosh, ah-ha, oh-ho, would that it were, would that it were…’):
https://www.bbc.co.uk/webarchive/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.co.uk%2Farchive%2Fmonitor–th-white-in-alderney%2Fzfkymfr
There are perfectly reputable auction houses a rung down from the household names that I suspect would be happy to sell it. Dukes, in Dorchester, for example.
Absolutely no helpful suggestions to make but that’s a fascinating story Colin – best of luck making progress on it
Thanks Blue – yes, I found it an intriguing tale when it came up in conversation round at Mark’s place over wine & pies a couple of nights back. I suggested that printing a version of it here might help attract the moths of TH White afficionados via Google.
It’s the 21st Century. Sell it online.
https://www.artgallery.co.uk/sell-art
You set the price but the website takes 35%. If you want £400, you are going to have to charge £600.
I’ll pass all the suggestions on. I don’t think it’s a case of wanting a load of cash – a fair part of the hope is to find the ‘right’ home for it. If it were easier to unite it with the White collection in Texas, even as a donation, that would probably be done. But pragmatically, my pal Mark (acting out of goodwill for the owner) doesn’t want to find himself in a complicated customs / tax situation through trying to help someone else, so maybe a ‘second division’ UK auction house is the way. I’ve no idea about Mark’s views on selling via online facilitators. He’s from the mainstream/traditional world of art being presented for sale via bricks and mortar galleries. He may well have arguments as to why this picture remains within that ‘accepted’ landscape of art selling…
All I know about TH White I learned in the book H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald – he seems to have been a very complicated man, to say the least.
Helen Macdonald comes across as, if not an afficionado, at least deeply fascinated by THW (her book is as much about him as it is about her attempt to train a goshawk) – perhaps she would be interested in buying it? It couldn’t hurt to ask (and probably not too difficult to get in touch via her publishers).
An interesting idea!
Having recently left Sotheby’s after three years, I’ve seen a fair few works of art which come with fascinating provenance and this is definitely in that camp. (The baseline for an artwork being accepted at Sotheby’s has recently been lifted to 5k minimum, unfortunately). Did your friend try the Modern British dept or the Books dept? They might have a more positive response from the latter, given the painting’s literary connections. Also, I would definitely recommend your friend try Bonham’s, if he hasn’t already – their focus is on sub 100k works and they are doing a very good job there.
I’ll certainly pass on the advice, Slot – ta!