Notes

Shortly after Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee (1837–1887), the artist Wyllie crafted the present lot to encapsulate his contemplation of England’s state. This artwork serves as a vivid snapshot of the nation’s labour, trade, industry, and its vast empire, all while portraying a momentous shift in society. This transformation is symbolized by the stark division between the manual laborers in the foreground and the encroaching presence of steam and smoke from the burgeoning machine age in the background. Work-a-Day England was most likely painted on the banks of the river Medway a few years after his relocation to the region, demonstrating his intimate knowledge of the local landscape and maritime traditions.

Wyllie was considered one of the most distinguished English maritime painters of the late 19th century, working in watercolour, oil and etching. He attended the Heatherley School of Fine Art followed by the Royal Academy Schools. In 1869, at the age of eighteen, he won the Turner Gold Medal. He was a member of the Society of British Artists, the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours, the New English Art Club, the Royal Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers, and was elected a member of the Royal Academy in 1907.

Wyllie exhibited extensively including at the Royal Academy. His work is represented in prestigious public collections in England, including the Imperial War Museum, the Tate, the Royal Academy, the National Maritime Museum, the National Museum of the Royal Navy, and in many other public collections worldwide.

Provenance

Dreweatts, Newbury, 11 October 2000, lot 113.

David Messum Fine Art, London.

Christie's, London, 12 Dec 2019, lot 177.

Exhibited

London, Royal Academy, 1886, cat. no. 123.
London, David Messum Fine Art, British Impressionism, Spring 2001, cat. no. 80.