1. Skip to navigation
  2. Skip to content
  3. Skip to sidebar


Lot #6019 - Janet Agnes Cumbrae-Stewart

  • Auction House:
    Theodore Bruce
  • Sale Name:
    Art | Australian | International | Aboriginal Auction
  • Sale Date:
    14 Sep 2020 ~ 6pm (AEST)
  • Lot #:
    6019
  • Lot Description:
    Janet Agnes Cumbrae-Stewart
    (1883-1960)
    Portrait of Barbara Vincent-Jones (1915-2004), aged 7 3/4, 1923
    Pastel on paper
    76 x 57 cm, 88 x 67 cm overall
    Signed & dated lower left
    The portrait was made in 1923 at Little Meadow Beaconsfield Buckinghamshire, England. The sitter writes: "I was very naughty & would not sit still & my arm was broken & bound up so it looks slightly off balance! This picture was hung in the London Roayl Academy 1924. My Brother was making faces at me through the garden window! My dress was navy blue & green shot silk taffeta bought at Bests New York. Cumbria Stewart (sic) had a studio in Chelsea, London & was a good friend of my Mother & Father". Barbara Vincent-Jones, who served as a third officer in the Women's Royal Naval Service in WWII, was the daughter of Sir Vincent Strickland Jones KBE and Mary Bagot. Sir Vincent Jones, the son of a well-to-do family in northern England, distinguished himself in military service before and during WWI. In 1910 he married and moved to Grand Falls Newfoundland, Canada to work for the Anglo-Newfoundland Development Company. War service saw his family return to England until the mid 1920s when he went back to Newfoundland. As company director of the AND company, he and his wife Mary became important pillars in the community. His honours include being named an honorary colonel of the Home Guard in Grand Falls and in 1941 Knight Commander of the British Empire. Barbara's mother, Mary Bagot (1889-1976) was the daughter of Lt. Col. Josceline Bagot, whose distinguished military service and leadership qualities, led to his appointment as Aide-de-camp to the Governor-General of Canada. He later served as a Conservative Member of the British Parliament and subsequently as Parliamentary Secretary at both the Treasury and the Home Office. He was nominated for a baronetcy in 1913 but died the same year. Barbara's father Sir Vincent Strickland Jones (1874-1967) Went to Newfoundland, 1910, as Mill Manager of Paper Mill at Grand Falls and has been connected with its progress and expansion ever since. 1912-45: Vice-President and Managing Director, Anglo-Newfoundland Development Co. Ltd; Pres Anglo-Newfoundland Steamship Co.Ltd , Director Terra Nova Properties Ltd, Gaspesia Sulphite Co. Ltd, Vice-Chairman Newfoundland Forest Fire Patrol. Recreations : cricket, lawn tennis, golf. Barbara's brother Desmond (1912-1992) (the one making faces at her as she was being painted) became an accomplished naval officer who served in WW2 and later rose to become the Military attaché to Argentina and later Naval Aide De Camp to the Queen. Both Barbara & Desmond changed their surnames to Vincent-Jones, Barbara in 1945. Condition: Good condition, original framing, damaged, losses
  • Provenance:
    Gifted by the sitter in 1999 to Charmaine Jane Curtis, wife of Jeffery Farnol, thence by descent.
  • Exhibited:
    The Royal Academy, London, 1924
  • Notes:
    Cumbrae-Stewart's skill was noted extensively during her career. She studied & was frequently awarded for her still life & nudes, she was received well in the first showing of her work in the 1907 First Australian Exhibition of Women's Work in Melbourne. Her first solo show followed in 1911 & was a resounding success, her works purchased by prominent collectors & well-known artists including Bernard Hall, the head of the National Gallery School. In 1916 she became a full member of the Australian Artist's Association, an honour normally conferred upon elite male artists. In 1922 she went to London with her sister Beatrice, moving to Chelsea & by 1923 she was an international success. She held exhibitions at Walkers Gallery, the Royal Academy & the Royal Society of Portrait Painters. Queen Mary is know to have bought her work, she began exhibiting at the Galérie Beaux-Arts, Paris (1924-31), the Royal Academy & the Salon de la Société des Artistes Français (the Old Salon), Paris—in 1923 she received an honourable mention from the latter. In the same year she travelled through the Continent & to Canada. During her seventeen-year stay in Europe she lived in Avignon & Caen in France & in Laiguelia on the Riviera di Ponente, Italy, with Miss Argemore ffarington 'Bill' Bellairs, her companion. She returned to Australia in 1939 to visit her family & remained there after the outbreak of World War II. http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/cumbrae-stewart-janet-agnes-5842
  • Estimate:
    A$3,000 - 5,000
  • Realised Price:
    *****

    Can't see the realised price? Upgrade your subscription now!

  • Category:
    Art

This Sale has been held and this item is no longer available. Details are provided for information purposes only.



© 2010-2024 Find Lots Online Pty Ltd