Sir Osbert Lancaster (1908-1986) (attributed to)
Venice, the Piazzetta
British: Mid 20th Century
Watercolor and gouache on paper
11.5 x 15.5 inches, overall
18.25 x 22.5 inches in silver-leaf frame
Provenance, Exhibition: Wildenstein & Co., Ltd
(Venice Observed)
Sold, please inquire as to the availability of similar items.
Watercolor of Venice Piazetta
Sir Osbert Lancaster, Mid 20th C.
Sir Osbert Lancaster, Mid 20th C.
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View of St. Mark’s Piazzetta in Venice, showing a crowd of tourists enjoying the pleasant day, including sailors, guards, elegantly dressed women and men, children, and tourists. The work is by the renowned cartoonist and theater designer Sir Osbert Lancaster. His sense of whimsy and satire, and background in theater, inform the scene, with its sometimes humorous depictions of distinctive characters such as two curvaceous women in sunglasses and high heels strolling across the square; a goofy gent in a brown suit, straw boater and handlebar mustache; and a monsignor with his black umbrella.
Sir Osbert Lancaster was a British painter, cartoonist, theater designer, and the author of 23 books, including architectural writings and two volumes of memoirs, whose wit was on display in both his drawings and writings. Educated at Oxford and the Slade School of Art, Lancaster’s knack for architectural rendering showed itself early, and he contributed drawings to the Architectural Review from 1934-39. From 1939 until his death in 1986, he contributed cartoons gently satirizing the English upper-middle classes to The Daily Express of London. He loved to travel and produced paintings of scenes abroad. During the 1950s and ‘60s he designed sets for theater, opera and ballet companies such as the Royal Opera House, Royal Ballet, National Ballet of Canada, Sadler’s Wells Ballet, and the London Festival Ballet. His best-known set was for Sir Frederick Ashton’s La Fille mal gardée (1960) performed by the Royal Ballet in London and New York. He also served as advisor to the Greater London Council’s Historic Buildings Board. In 1975, Lancaster became the only cartoonist to be knighted for his achievements, also as an artist and writer. Today his works are in the collections of the Tate Gallery, Britain’s National Portrait Gallery and the British Government Art Collection.
Provenance label: “Wildenstein & Co., Ltd./ 147 New Bond Street/ London, W1Y ONX/ Exhibition: Venice Observed/ Date 11 Nov – 1 Dec 1976 Cat. No. 44/ Artist: Sir Osbert Lancaster/ Title: Venice, the Piazzetta
Reference:
“Sir Osbert Lancaster.” Ballet Theatre Foundation, Inc. 2003. http://www.abt.org/education/archive/designers/lancaster_O.html (19 April 2005).