Dame Laura Knight RA RWS (1877-1970)

Derby Day No. 2, Epsom, circa 1936

signed lower left

oil on canvas

63.5cm x 76.4cm

Sold by the artist’s estate - July 1971, No. 105 at Sotheby’s London and illustrated in the sale catalogue; with Phillips 10 March 1987 No. 38; with Richard Hagan, Broadway, where purchased by the current owner.

Exhibited at the Royal Academy, 1967, No. 871.

The artwork was painted in circa 1936 at a time when the artist generally visited the races in Mr Sully’s Rolls Royce with her companion Ally Bert. The artist had become great friends with Joe and Ally Bert from the days when she toured around the country with Carmo's Circus. Joe Bert, the clown, appears in several of the artist's circus works - e.g. Circus Matinee, The Show is On, The Trick Act.

On helping her great friend Ally Bert to arrange the funeral of her husband Joe, the artist met Mr Sully the undertaker, who had his business in the East End of London. Subsequently, the artist took on Ally as a secretary/companion to assist on administration and household matters, and they often attended the races in Mr Sully’s’ funeral Rolls Royce.

The artist found the Rolls Royce convenient, for when raining, there was sufficient space inside to enable her to continue to paint sitting inside the vehicle. In addition, at other times, the artist took the opportunity to get better aerial views above the heads of other spectators by painting from on top of the car’s roof.

The artist generally attended Epsom and Ascot to paint Romani people, being fascinated by their way of life. Knight was invited to their camp at Iver Common in Buckinghamshire, where she painted many scenes and portraits of them. The artist met the same Romani people hop picking in Worcestershire, when staying in Malvern.

Chorley's are grateful to John Croft for his assistance in cataloguing this lot, which appears in the Catalogue Raisonné under reference #0966.