Old English House by Moonlight

John Atkinson Grimshaw (1836–1893)

1883

Medium/TechniqueOil on canvas

DimensionsOverall: 50.5 x 75.9 cm (19 7/8 x 29 7/8 in.)
Framed: 66 x 90.2 cm (26 x 35 1/2 in.)

Credit LineGift of William R. Elfers and Jane Elfers Muther in memory of their parents, William and Ann Elfers

Accession number2013.907

On View

Not on view

ClassificationsPaintings

Collections

Europe

Description

Called the “Painter of Moonlight” by his contemporaries, the self-taught Grimshaw achieved fame and fortune painting night scenes of suburban English lanes. With its bare trees, brightly-lit houses, and solitary figure seen from behind, this picture is a perfect example of Grimshaw’s style and of middle-class Victorian taste.

ProvenanceFebruary 22, 1972, anonymous (“various properties”) sale, Sotheby’s, Belgravia, London, lot 95, to R. Tuck. November 5, 1974, anonymous (“various properties”) sale, Sotheby’s, Belgravia, London, lot 140, unsold. May 25, 1979, anonymous (“property of a gentleman”) sale, Christie’s, London, lot 88, sold to Richard Green (dealer), London; October 8, 1982, sold by Richard Green to William Elfers, Sr. (b. 1918 – d. 2005), Wellesley Hills, MA; 2005, by descent to his children, William R. Elfers and Jane Elfers Muther; 2013, gift of William R. Elfers and Jane Elfers Muther to the MFA. (Accession Date: September 25, 2013)