Evelyn Dunbar (1906-1960):
Sleeping Beauty, 10 minute sketch, c.1928 (HMO 786)
Unframed (ref: 6286)
Inscribed in pencil with title, probably by Florence Dunbar
Oil on canvas
18.9 x 13 in. (48 x 33 cm)
See all works by Evelyn Dunbar oil pencil night scenes and sleep portraits 1.PORTRAIT OF AN ARTIST 2.dunbar 2022 Golden Generation RCA WOMEN Evelyn Dunbar - The Last Works Evelyn Dunbar at The Watts Gallery
Provenance: Roger Folley; Alasdair Dunbar; Hammer Mill Oast Collection
Exhibited: Evelyn Dunbar - The Lost Works, Pallant House Gallery, October 2015 - February 2016.
Literature: Evelyn Dunbar - The Lost Works, eds Sacha Llewellyn & Paul Liss, July 2015, cat. 12, page 44:Evelyn Dunbar: A Life in Painting, Christopher Campbell-Howes, October 2016, page 51.
Llewellyn, Sacha, and Paul Liss. Portrait of an Artist. Liss Llewellyn, 2021, p.130.
Dunbar presumably painted this endearing portrait of her father William, then about 66, after lunch one day. Always careful of dressing well, as befitted a bespoke tailor, even during the course of an after-lunch nap during which he has slipped down inside his jacket, he has a rose in his button-hole. The pencil inscription ‘Sleeping Beauty 10 minute sketch, on the lower part of the canvas, appears to have been written by Florence, William’s wife.
We are grateful to Christopher Campbell-Howes for assistance.