126 - Sidney Richard Percy,

Sidney Richard Percy, British 1821/22-1886- View of the Lledr Valley at sunset, with two shepherds, a sheepdog and their flock; oil on canvas, signed and dated 'S. R. Percy 1868' (lower right), bears old label indistinctly inscribed 'The Valley of the Lledr, N. Wales [?] / Sidney R. Percy' attached to the upper stretcher bar, bears old label partially visible and indistinctly inscribed attached to the lower stretcher bar, bears old label for Dyson Lister Art Gallery attached to the central stretcher bar, 112 x 183.5 cm. Note: Percy, as the son of the painter Edward Williams (1781-1855), was a member of the Williams family of artists, which also included artists George Morland (1763-1804) and James Ward (1769-1859). Percy worked as a landscape painter, depicting the countryside across the United Kingdom, drawing particular inspiration from the landscape of Northern Wales, Yorkshire, Devon, and the Scottish Highlands. Heenjoyed the support of a number of prominent contemporaries, including Prince Albert (1819-1861), who bought one of his works, 'A view of Llyn Dulyn, North Wales', as a gift for Queen Victoria (1819-1901) in 1854 [Royal Collection 403653]. He also exhibited 73 works at the Royal Academy between 1842 and 1886. The present work is a particularly evocative and atmospheric sunset scene by Percy, depicting the Lledr Valley in Snowdonia, North Wales, which extends from the Crimea Pass near Blaenau Ffestiniog to Betws-y-Coed. Striking landscapes of a similar scale by Percy include that which sold at Christie's, London, on 11 December 2014, lot 79 (£32,500), or another which sold at Sotheby's, Perthshire, on 31 August 2005, lot 816 (£18,000).