Augustus Charles Pugin

Sale, Paris, Millon, 6 December 2002, lot 35 (27,000 Euros),

with Agnew’s, London,

by whom presented to the late Sir Simon and Lady Day 

Engraved:

by Frederick Christian Lewis for John Britton’s The History and Description, with Graphic Illustrations of Cassiobury Park, London 1837, pl. xiii 

Augustus Charles Pugin was born in France but fled his native country during the revolution. He settled in London and soon established himself as a leading exponent of the Gothic revival movement, specialising in detailed and sophisticated architectural watercolours and drawings. Feted in his own day, his fame was eclipsed by that of his son, Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin (1812-1852) who, amongst many other achievements, was responsible for the rebuilding of London's Houses of Parliament after the fire of 1834.

In this watercolour, Pugin stands in the great library at Cassiobury Park, near Watford, home of the Earls of Essex since the middle of the seventeenth century. The room, which was over fifty feet long, was designed by James Wyatt (1746-1813) and was much admired during the period. As a trio of dogs play on the enormous carpet in the foreground, a lady stands to the left studying a large atlas, while another appears to be writing at a desk near the three great windows. The room is sumptuously furnished, with richly framed family portraits, marble busts, bronze sculptures, a gilt-wood and glass lantern and, of course, thousands of books.

Although Pugin is known to have visited Cassiobury in 1797 at the behest of Viscount Malden, later 5^th Earl of Essex, this watercolour is dated 1816 and was later engraved. A preliminary sketch, perhaps made on the 1797 visit, survives in the Cooper Hewitt Museum, New York.

Sadly, following the death of the 7^th Earl of Essex in 1916, it became clear that Cassiobury Park needed to be sold. Having failed to find a buyer in the difficult market that followed the First World War, the house was demolished in 1927 and its great collections largely dispersed.

For a view of the park at Cassiobury, by J.M.W. Turner, see the previous lot.

^1.R. Hill, 'A. C. Pugin,' The Burlington Magazine, vol. 138, January 1996, p. 13