About this lot

Description

§ Raymond Woog (French, 1875-1949) Portrait of Brigadier-General John Nicholson (1863-1924) in profile, head and shoulders, in uniform, a cane under his arm signed with the initial "W" and date of 1917 on the reverse on a plaque oil on canvais laid to board 79 x 65cm (31 x 25in)
Provenance: By descent within the family of the sitter Raymond Woog was a pupil of the Symbolist painter, Gustave Moreau. He was in the Army from 1915-1918, and spent six months in Flanders, based in Le Havre, with the rank of Lieutenant, as Attaché to the military mission of the British Army. Woog painted portrait sketches of the English and French soldiers at that time. The sitter in the present portrait, Brigadier-General John Sanctuary Nicholson, CB CMG CBE DSO (1863-1924), was sent to the British colony of Natal (1843-1910), South Africa, in 1894. He commanded the Matabeleland Division of British South Africa Police in Rhodesia and later became its Commandant-General. He served in the Second Boer War (1899-1902) for which he was created a Companion of the Order of Bath in 1902. Nicholson was promoted to Brigadier-General in 1916 and created a CBE for his work during the First World War. He retired from the Army in 1920.
Oil on canvas which has been laid to board. The canvas had suffered a large tear which runs along the right side and across the top edge. This is presumably the reason why the painting has been put onto board. The board has a concave warp. There are retouchings along the tear and uneven fill. There are a few other localised areas of retouching. The varnish is thick and yellowed. There is a knock to the frame at the lower edge, otherwise it is in a good condition.

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