Academy Fine Paintings

Description

This is a fine large mid-19th century oil on canvas depicting ‘Rosalind and Celia’ in the Forest of Arden from Act 3, Scene 2 of William Shakespeare’s ‘As You Like It’ by the famous English Victorian artist Henry Nelson O’Neil ARA (1817-1880). The painting is signed by the artist and dated 1856. It was in this year that the painting was exhibited at the Royal Academy in London where O’Neil exhibited a grand total 94 paintings between 1838 and 1879.

As with all of the original antique oil paintings we sell it is offered in the very finest condition it can be for its age having just been professionally cleaned, restored and re-varnished.

Henry O'Neil was a founder member of The Clique, one of the most important artist groups of the 19th century, alongside Richard Dadd, William Powell Frith, John Phillip, Edward Matthew Ward, Augustus Egg, and Alfred Elmore.

In the 1850’s O'Neil was a famously virulent critics of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood though ironically his own luminous technique and fastidious attention to detail compares to anything produced by Millais, Rosetti, and Holman Hunt.

Henry Nelson O’Neil also exhibited 34 painting at the British Institution and 14 with the Royal Society of British Artists.

Dimensions: (framed) 109cm x 88cm (43” x 34¾”)
Dimensions: (canvas only) 92cm x 71cm (36¼” x 28”)
Medium: Oil on canvas.
Provenance: Private UK collection.
Presentation: Bespoke Baroque style swept frame. All of the new frames we commission are especially made for us to order by one of the UK’s finest period frame makers.
Condition: Excellent. Newly professionally cleaned, restored and re-varnished. Ready to hang. We do not sell dirty, damaged or unframed works of art.
Conservation: Where necessary the paintings we sell are cleaned and restored by Fine Art Restoration (est.1974) or Simon Gillespie Studio, as seen on BBC Television's 'Fake or Fortune' and 'Britain's Lost Masterpieces'.

About AFP
Academy Fine Paintings is an international fine art dealership based in Buckinghamshire, England. We specialise in 19th century British and European oil paintings by some of the most important artists of the period, from Victorian landscapes and subject pictures to Belle Epoque portraits and Orientalist scenes.

Condition
Clients should always bear in mind that the vast majority of paintings we deal in are antiques - works over 100 years old and frequently older – and will therefore invariably retain some evidence of aging, historical damage and repair. During its lifetime a 150-year old oil painting may well have been exposed to extremes of heat or cold, intrusion of water, bumps, cuts and natural age-related deterioration, all of which require restoration. Whilst our conservator is one of the most eminent in the UK, no restorer can reverse time and every sign of ageing and natural deterioration, therefore anyone wishing to purchase a painting that looks like new should think about buying a new painting rather than an antique one.