Seaton Delaval

Between 1939-1941 John Piper’s personal style evolved rapidly and it is from this period that some of his most distinctive and immediately recognisable paintings emerged, with the current lot being a particularly striking example. The work displays a collage-style juxtaposition of forms, colours and textures, reminding us that during most of the 1930s Piper, influenced by the modern movement, was a leading British abstract painter. Meanwhile its palette, atmosphere and intensity reflects Piper’s well-documented enthusiasm for the work of Samuel Palmer (1805-1881), the Romantic artist and associate of William Blake. Piper had already been involved with producing designs for theatre productions, and the current work projects the kind of mystery and excitement evoked by the back-cloth of a stage-set.

Seaton Delaval not only exemplifies the artist’s skill for topographical depiction but also captures a crucial moment in British history, with the wartime date of the picture reflected in the piles of hay stacked in the yard in the work’s foreground. Seaton Delaval Hall was designed by the architect and playwright, Sir John Vanbrugh, for Admiral George Delaval in 1718. The painting's theatrical composition, struck by dramatic lighting, reflects the then looming threat of the destruction of Britain’s finest architecture. From 1941 until 1944, contemporary to the present work, Piper was under commission from Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother to record the architecture of Windsor Castle in case this threat manifested itself on the royal residence. Piper’s celebrated series of twenty-six watercolours depicting Windsor Castle consists of views of, and from, various points, whereas the present work boasts a magnificent view of the entire north façade of Vanbrugh’s architectural masterpiece. This also sets the present work apart from the 1941 painting of Seaton Delaval (Tate) which focuses on the central elements of the frontage of the main doorway. The Tate painting was originally owned by Sir Kenneth Clark and subsequently gifted to the gallery in 1946.

Seaton Delaval has now remained in the same family collection for 80 years and is presented in its original frame, complete with the Redfern Gallery label dating back to its acquisition by Dr John Gibbs in August 1943. The painting has been seen in public only once since its original purchase, in 2004-5 when it was included in An Art-Accustomed Eye: John Gibbs and art appreciation in Wales 1945-1996 at the National Museum of Wales.

We are very grateful to Rev. Dr Stephen Laird F.S.A. for his assistance in cataloguing this lot.