Information

According to Betty Elzea this tracing was probably made in 1858 when Sandys was working on a portrait of his patron Rev. James Bulwer. Lady Suffield owned Blickling Hall and Bulwer acted as her librarian. No doubt it was through him that the artist gained access to the library and made copies of the motifs from the psalter. 'The 'Celtic' design motifs to be seen in his 1858 painting 'Queen Eleanor' were undoubtedly derived from this source' (Betty Elzea, Frederick Sandys 1829-1904: A Catalogue Raisonné, p. 141). The psalter is now in the Pierpont Morgan Library, New York.

  • Purchased and presented by subscribers, 1906.
  • © Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery

Makers

Association Artist Organisation
Artist Frederick Sandys -

Inscriptions

Type Position(s) Method Date(s) Notes
Psalter of the Eighth century / written in Lombardic Characters / Blickling Library -
Inscription below image Handwritten 1858 c Black ink.
 

Literature

Author(s) Date(s) Publisher Pages
Catalogue of Sandys Drawings at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery
Jerome Peat 1978 - -
 
City of Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery: Catalogue of the Permanent Collection of Drawings
A E Whitley 1939 Bemrose & Sons, Ltd., Derby p. 396
 
Frederick Sandys 1829-1904: A Catalogue Raisonné
Betty Elzea 2001 Antique Collectors' Club in association with Norfolk Museums and Archaeology Service No. 1.C.42.; p. 141

Provenance

Almost certainly to have been acquired by Charles Fairfax Murray from the artist, or from the sale of the contents of the Sandys family home after the death of Sandys' mother in September 1883 (Elzea).

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