SIR JOSEPH NOEL PATON (BRITISH, 1821-1901)

Exhibited
Edinburgh, The Royal Scottish Academy, 1883, No. 299

Footnote
Sir Joseph Noel Paton was born in Dunfermline, Scotland, in 1821. After attending Dunfermline Art Academy, he went onto study at The Royal Academy in London in 1843, where he met Sir John Everett Millais. Millais, clearly impressed by Paton's work, invited him to become a member of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood but Paton declined the invitation, even though he shared similarities in style. Paton was an expert in folklore and many of his works reflect this interest. His primary subjects include historical, religious and allegorical scenes, as well as scenes from plays by the likes of Shakespeare, and fairy paintings, the latter being a particularly interesting subject in Victorian Britain. Paton returned to Scotland and, in 1844, exhibited his first work at the Royal Scottish Academy, Ruth Gleaning. He went on to attain various prizes for his work including The Quarrel of Oberon and Titania and The Reconciliation of Oberon and Titania, both now in the collection of The National Gallery of Scotland. In 1847 Paton became an Associate of The Royal Scottish Academy and in 1865 was appointed Queen's Limner for Scotland, a post previously held by the likes of Sir Henry Raeburn and Sir David Wilkie. Paton spent the majority of his career in Scotland and died in Edinburgh in 1901.

The work offered here, Puck and the Fairy, was painted by Paton in 1882 and portrays the opening sequence of act 2, scene 1 from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Robin Goodfellow, a hobgoblin, or puck, has been sent by Oberon, King of the Fairies, to obtain a special flower that makes people fall in love with the next creature they see. Oberon wants to use this to make Titania, Queen of the Fairies, fall in love with a beast, so he can use her infatuation to steal an Indian boy from her. The image painted here by Paton is the opening exchange between Robin Goodfellow and a fairy in the woods, which takes place before their master and mistress, Oberon and Titania, confront one another.

This picture was exhibited by Paton at The Royal Scottish Academy in Edinburgh in 1883 and at that time was acquired by the vendor's family, subsequently being passed down through the generations until today. Still held in its ornate original frame, it now comes fresh to the market for the first time in over one hundred and forty years.

Condition report
The canvas has been relined.
Craquelure visible.
Surface dirt.
A little undulation to canvas upper left.
Discoloured varnish. 
No signs of retouching.
Appears in generally good, original, presentable condition.

Nothing fluorescing under uv light.