Glyn Warren Philpot R.A. (British, 1884-1937)The Sisters of the Artist signed and dated 'Glyn Philpot 1922' (lower left)oil on canvas142.3 x 111 cm. (56 x 43 3/4 in.)Footnotes:ProvenanceThe Artist, thence by descent to the present ownerPrivate Collection, U.K.ExhibitedLondon, Royal Academy of Arts, The exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts, 1 May-7 August 1922, cat.no.145London, Grosvenor Galleries, Paintings and Sculpture by Glyn Philpot R.A., 1923, cat.no.11 (as The Sisters)Liverpool, Walker Art Gallery, Fifty-first Autumn Exhibition, 1923, cat.no.1067Wembley, British Empire Exhibition, 1925, cat.no.49New York, World's Fair, Contemporary British Art, 1939, cat.no.100Brighton, Brighton Art Gallery, Glyn Philpot R.A., 1884-1937, 3 April-3 May 1953, cat.no.12London, Leighton House, Drawings, Paintings and Sculpture by Glyn Warren Philpot R.A. 1884-1937, 7-28 February 1959 (followed by tour with Art Exhibitions Bureau, 1959-60), cat.no.31Oxford, Ashmolean Museum, Glyn Philpot R.A., 1884-1937; A Commemorative Exhibition, 15 September-28 November 1976, cat.no.12London, National Portrait Gallery, Glyn Philpot 1884-1937; Edwardian Aesthete to Thirties Modernist, 9 November 1984-10 February 1985, cat.no.31Chichester, Pallant House Gallery, Glyn Philpot: Flesh and Spirit, 14 May-23 October 2022LiteratureRoyal Academy Illustrated, 1922, p.2 (ill.b&w)Daisy Philpot, Manuscript Catalogue of Portraits by Glyn Philpot, c.1938-57, p.5 (ill.)A.C.Sewter, Glyn Philpot 1884-1937, (foreword by T Bodkin), 1951, pl.40 (ill.)Robin Gibson, Glyn Philpot 1984-1937 Edwardian Aesthete to Thirties Modernist, National Portrait Gallery Exhibition Catalogue, London, 1984, pp.62-63, ill.col p.20 and b&w p.63Simon Martin and Alan Hollinghurst, Glyn Philpot: Flesh and Spirit, Pallant House Gallery, Chichester, 2022, p.46, fig.36 (col.ill)Philpot's important painting The Sisters of the Artist depicts two of his elder siblings, Daisy (right) and Gertrude (left). At this period Philpot often used family and close contacts as models, but the titles he gave to pictures such as the present work and Gabrielle and Rosemary, Nieces of the Artist (Ashmolean Museum, Oxford) underlines the importance of these specific sitters to him. As Robin Gibson comments 'Philpot was the youngest member of the family. His sisters were both extremely fond of him, and Daisy in particular was often called upon to pose for him. Gertrude was born at the family home - 31 The Grove, Clapham - in 1879. She married Clement Cross in 1907 and died in 1957. Daisy, who was three years younger, was also born in Clapham. Remaining unmarried, she devoted much of her life to her brother's interests, even after his death. She died in the same year as her sister.' (Robin Gibson, exh.cat., Glyn Philpot 1984-1937 Edwardian Aesthete to Thirties Modernist, National Portrait Gallery Exhibition Catalogue, London, 1984, pp.62-63).Gibson commented further that the work itself is 'almost wilfully conservative in its very Shannonesque colouring and the rather Victorian feel of the long dresses, it has a haunting, timeless quality and almost existentialist atmosphere of resignation which could only belong to the twentieth century' (Ibid.).When the painting was first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1922 the Evening Standard judged it as 'the outstanding work of genius'. The following year The Sisters of the Artist was included in Philpot's first major solo exhibition, which also received rapturous acclaim. The critic P.G Konody declared 'Few living artists could emerge from the ordeal of a one-man show as triumphantly as Mr Glyn Philpot whose exhibition at the Grosvenor Galleries reveals not only a craftsman of the rarest distinction, but an artist who can turn from penetrating and conscientious portraiture to lofty imaginative conceptions' (P.G. Konody, Daily Mail, 14 April 1923).The Sisters of the Artist has subsequently enjoyed an impressive exhibition history. Outings include the World's Fair in New York in 1939 (alongside Henry Moore's Recumbent Figure – see note for lot 24), the major 1953, 1976 & 1985 artist retrospectives, and most recently at this year's Glyn Philpot: Flesh and Spirit exhibition at Pallant House Gallery, Chichester.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
