Signed 'Will Rothenstein / Paris' lower left; dedicated and dated 'For Alice Aug. 95' upper left.
Provenance: Olympia Auctions, London Sale, 14 June 2023, lot 34;
Sotheby's London Sale, 26 February 2003, lot 27;
Lucy Rothenstein (the artist's grand daughter) by descent;
Alice Rothenstein (a gift from the artist).
Exhibitions: London, Tate Gallery, William Rothenstein Memorial Exhibition, 1950, no. 2 (as An old lady);
Bradford, City Art Gallery & Museums, 1972, no. 2 (illustrated in the catalogue).
A portrait of the artist’s wife, Alice Rothenstein née Knewstub, who was an actress under the stage name Kingsley and whom he married in 1899. The couple had four children, one of whom became Director of the Tate Gallery from 1938 to 1964.
Rothenstein dedicated this portrait to Alice and gave it to her as a gift. The artist was known to be adept at capturing the essence of his subjects and he depicted his wife on several occasions. Paintings with his wife include The Doll's House, 1899 (Tate Collection N03189) alongside their friend the artist Augustus John and Eric Gill; Alice Mary (née Knewstub), Lady Rothenstein, c. 1913 (National Portrait Gallery Collection NPG 5508).
This painting is reminiscent of Edouard Manet, in particular the portrait of his friend Émile Zola from 1868 in which the sitter also appears in side profile with prints adorning the dark wall behind him.
£ 12,500.-