MACALLAN

['Death has taken a heavy toll': Sir Frank Dicksee, Victorian artist, President of the Royal Academy.] Autograph Letter Signed to the widow of fellow-Royal Academician John Macallan Swan, accepting on behalf of the RA committee the gift of a bust.

Author: 
Frank Dicksee [Sir Francis Bernard Dicksee] (1853-1928), Victorian artist, President of the Royal Academy [Mary Anne Swan (née Rankin), wife of John Macallan Swan (1847-1910), RA, painter and sculptor
Publication details: 
10 May 1926; on letterhead of Greville House, 3 Greville Place, Maida Vale, NW6 [London].
£60.00

See his entry, and Swan's, in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 12mo. Seventeen stylish lines with bold signature. On first leaf of a bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded once for postage. Addressed to 'Dear Mrs Swan' and signed 'Frank Dicksee'. Her letter gave him great pleasure and he has just had the opportunity of placing her 'very kind offer before the Council [of the Royal Academy]'. 'I need hardly tell you they are delighted to accept this valuable gift.

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[W. L. Wyllie [William Lionel Wyllie], distinguished English maritime painter.] Autograph Card Signed to 'Miss Swan' (daughter of artist John Macallan Swan) regarding 'the copy of Cape St Vincent' and a roll that is unsuitable for a panorama.

Author: 
W. L. Wyllie [William Lionel Wyllie] (1851-1931), distinguished English maritime painter [John Macallan Swan (1847-1910), RA, painter and sculptor]
Publication details: 
24 March 1931. Letterhead: 'From / W. L. Wyllie, / Tower House, Portsmouth / Tel. 2598.'
£45.00

See his entry, and that of Swan, in the Oxford DNB. From the Swan papers. On both sides of an 11.5 x 9 cm card. In good condition, lightly aged, and with faint ink line at foot. Signed 'W L Wyllie'. Begins: 'Dear Miss Swan / Very many thanks for sending me the copy of Cape St Vincent. It is quite fine I will try if I cannot steal a bit for my big picture.' He turns to a 'roll' which is 'not long enough to make a panorama', but which he hopes to be able to 'drive round and look at' when the weather is warmer.

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[Sir William Agnew, leading London art dealer and Liberal politician.] Autograph Note Signed inviting artist and sculptor John Macallan Swan to dine with ‘Mr Leslie and some few artists’.

Author: 
Sir William Agnew (1825-1910), proprietor of the leading London art gallery Thomas Agnew & Sons and Liberal politician [John Macallan Swan (1847-1910), RA, painter and sculptor]
Publication details: 
22 August 1905. On letterhead of 11 Great Stanhope Street, W. [London]
£50.00

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 16mo. In good condition, lightly aged, with thin band of discoloration beneath the last line. Addressed to ‘J M Swan Esq R.A’. Reads: ‘My dear Mr Swan / Will you dine with me on Thursday June 1st. to meet Mr Leslie and some few artists? / I should be glad if you will. / Yours faithfully / Wm. Agnew’.

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[Matthew Ridley Corbet, ARA, neoclassical English painter.] Three Autograph Letters Signed (‘M. R. Corbet’) to John Macallan Swan, with regard to Giovanni Costa in Italy, Alfred Gilbert, William Cosmo Monkhouse and Edwin Freshfield.

Author: 
M. R. Corbet [Matthew Ridley Corbet] (1850-1902), ARA, neoclassical painter [John Macallan Swan (1847-1910), RA, painter and sculptor; William Cosmo Monkhouse; Alfred Gilbert; Edwin Freshfield]
Publication details: 
ONE: 28 October 1896; Casa Costa, Marina di Pisa, Italy. TWO: 4 December 1898. THREE: 18 March 1902. Items Two and Three on letterhead of Crow’s-nest, 54, Circus Road, St. John’s Wood, N.W.
£120.00

An interesting glimpse into the late-Victorian world of English art. Corbet and Swan were close friends - one of Corbet’s paintings remained in Swan’s family until the 1990s. See the two men’s entries in the Oxford DNB. The three letters are addressed to ‘Dear Swan’ and signed ‘M. R. Corbet’. All three on grey paper, lightly aged and worn, with creasing to Letter One.

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