Richard Winstanley (d. 1836), London, by 1835(1) (estate sale, London, Christie’s, 16 Mar. 1850, lot 57, sold for 189 guineas to); [Holloway].(2) Richard Winstanley,London (estate sale, London, Christie’s, 6 Mar. 1858, lot 33, sold for ￡131.5.0 to); [Alfred Gritten, London].(3) Major J. L. Curtis, Langford Hall, Newark, Nottinghamshire (sale, London, Christie’s, 9 July 1937, lot 95, sold for ￡378 to); [Horace Buttery, London]. [Thos. Agnew & Sons, London, sold 1962 to]; [P. de Boer, Amsterdam, sold 1962 to]; H. Becker, Dortmund, until at least 1967, sold through; [G. Cramer Oude Kunst, The Hague, to]; Mr. and Mrs. Edward William Carter, Los Angeles, given 2009 to; LACMA.
Footnotes
(1) According to Smith 1829–42, vol. 6 (1835), no. 150. M. Robinson 1990, says "probably" Winstanley. The identification of the Carter painting with that in the Winstanley auctions of 1850 and 1858 is confirmed by the annotation in the copy of the 1858 sale at the Getty Research Institute as well as by a label affixed to the back of the panel by Alfred Gritten. In the 1850 sale, Richard Winstanley is identified as "Esq." He may be related to Winstanley auctioneers who were active in Liverpool from at least 1803 to 1841.
(2) The painting was probably bought in. Holloway is listed as the buyer of seven of the ten paintings that reappear in the 1 April 1858 sale of paintings from the collection of Richard Winstanley.
(3) The name was previously identified as Alfred Grilten, undoubtedly a misreading of Michael S. Robinson’s handwritten note to Hannah Carter attached to a letter of 10 July 1976 (Van de Velde object file, Department of European Painting and Sculpture, LACMA). According to Robinson, who cited information from the London Post Office Directories, Alfred Gritten was an art dealer located at 74 Piccadilly, London, from 1859 to 1861. Robinson speculated that he was "one of the sons of Henry Gritten & Sons, picture dealers, who were at 9 King Street (almost next-door to Christie’s) from 1844 to 1858." A letter dated 28 February 1861 (Van de Velde object file, Department of European Painting and Sculpture, LACMA) addressed "Dear Sir" with the address 74 Piccadilly [London], confirms that the buyer was Alfred Gritten. The signature is broken but the letter appears to be signed "H. Graves [for?] Alfred Gritten."
