A Fine Oil on Canvas of the ‘Lass That Loved a Sailor’ by Julius Mendes Price, 1906

A Fine Oil on Canvas of the ‘Lass That Loved a Sailor’ by Julius Mendes Price, 1906

Depicting a finely and fashionably dressed lady, sitting on a quay staring out to sea, ships visible in the background. The drapery of the lady’s clothing exquisitely rendered and the whole image exuding a fine early 20^th century romanticism.

The subject of the piece is likely to have been drawn from the Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera H M S Pinafore, which employs the title of the present painting as its secondary title. First performed in 1878, the opera is still popular to this day and several artists of the late 19^th and early 20^th century took inspiration from the opera and its songs, creating paintings that pictured characters or themes from the work.

Our piece was painted by Julius Mendes Price in 1906 and is signed and dated to that effect. Mendes Price was a fascinating individual. Trained as an artist at UCL and then the Beaux Arts in Paris, he was quickly taken on by the Illustrated London News as a war correspondent. In pursuit of his story, he enlisted in Methuen’s Horse regiment during the Second Boer War campaigns in Bechuanaland of 1884-1885, his drawings on the spot and articles being published in the paper by despatch. Other events he witnessed in his incredible career included an expedition to open access to the Nordenskiold route to Siberia, later traversing Siberia, Mongolia and much of China and he was present during the gold rush in Australia and, likewise, in Canada and the Klondyke. Price was embedded in the Greek army during the Graeco-Turkish conflict in 1897 and likewise accompanied Russian troops during their war with Japan. He also fought with distinction in World War I on the French front and later in Italy, resulting in him being created a Knight of the Order of the Crown of Italy. He published several books on his life and travels and on ladies fashions (such as Dame Fashion: Paris-London 1786-1912)

 and wrote a huge number of articles for the Illustrated London News, Vanity Fair and other publications. Alongside all of this he had a thriving business as a commercial artist, creating pieces for use in advertising campaigns for the likes of Black Cat Cigarettes, and as an academic painter, exhibiting at the Beaux Arts exhibitions in Paris and at the Royal Academy on four occasions.