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Please help me any information of this old drawing

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Massimo Lavagna

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Hello! I live in Italy and i received this Henry Tonks painting as a gift, many years ago, from my aunt who lived in london, now deceased. I cannot understand what is written on the painting on the left and on the right. I've seen some Henry Tonks drawings sold at Christie's. I am looking for any information and potential value of this old painting. I would like to sell the drawing but I don't know how to do it here in Italy where this artist is unknown. I would be grateful for any info or suggestions where to look. Thank you much!

Alan Bickley

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Interesting study, and rather good! He is an important recognised British artist of course, he has a portrait in the National Gallery. We can’t offer up any valuation on this website, so I would suggest that you contact one of the main London auction houses, Christie’s perhaps as a starting point! or Bonham’s. Send numerous photos and all the background information that you have, provenance is everything when it comes to valuing old paintings. I can’t see any signature, perhaps he didn’t sign his sketches, so provenance will be important in establishing authenticity! Some of the writing is clear but most of it isn’t, so I can’t help on that one. It’s obviously names and addresses. It’s been rather poorly reframed at some point, so I’m not sure if that backboard with the writing is original… it doesn’t look old enough! That’s a potential issue! The art process known as ‘tonking’ is attributed to Henry Tonks, a method of removing excess oil paint from a work in progress using newspaper…  Good luck and keep us updated on developments.

Edited
by Alan Bickley

With Sarah, Phil, Ellen, Rose the dentist, and the granddaughter whose name I forget.

Robert Jones, NAPA

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Tonks was a professor, and became Sir Henry - as Alan says, a major figure in his day.  I remember reading he preferred the London Times as his blotting newspaper of choice.   That is a very charming study - some of the writing says 'Slade prof', as indeed he was, and that the picture was exhibited at the Charlotte Street Gallery in 1937.  One of the other names on the reverse is Luigi Brancusi - and there's a Ruth Joll (?).... both interesting, but the work has been re-framed, well after 1937 - this needs a serious examination by Sotheby's or similar auction house.  
With Sarah, Phil, Ellen, Rose the dentist, and the granddaughter whose name I forget.

Robert Jones, NAPA

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Actually on the front rather than the reverse - the names and addresses: 211 The Grove, Hammersmith, being one of them.   And I've got part of his story wrong - he declined the offer of a knighthood.  Interesting page on him at Wikipedia - he taught many of the most prominent artists of the next generation, and seems to have terrified a good many of them.

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by Robert Jones, NAPA

Alan Bickley

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Great to see a picture on the forum worthy of serious examination, it doesn’t often happen on here. I’m no expert on Henry Tonks, but this delightful sketch was undoubtedly the work of a skilful professional artist so I wouldn’t doubt its authenticity for a minute. But as Robert says, this belongs in the hands of the experts to have it authenticated. It’s that backboard that concerns me the most, it would have been so much better to have the original… but we haven’t. Maybe the writing was transferred to this new board!

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Sylvia Evans

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It's utterly beautiful. 
With Sarah, Phil, Ellen, Rose the dentist, and the granddaughter whose name I forget.

Robert Jones, NAPA

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1937 was the year of Tonks' death - at 74.  And gone far too soon by the look of this piece, if indeed it does date to the last year of his life rather than just being in the gallery at that particular time.  Tonking - yes: I agree with Alan; I've probably done it long, long ago..... as a result of using far too much oil.  But generally speaking, I wouldn't even think of doing that now; I notice there's a young US artist named Kevin Hill, who didn't I think know about Tonks' method until I told him, but had independently developed a habit of blotting his oils with what he calls 'shop towel', and we would call kitchen roll.   Kevin learned his methods, I think, largely from the dire Bob Ross, and still has one or two unfortunate tricks, or tics, up his sleeve from that gentleman - he is immensely more skilled, however.  An infectious communicator, though I have to say I wouldn't want to paint like him - I'm not going to rant about Ross again, but there are several painters out there who have been very nearly ruined by following his example; several can be found on YouTube: there's one named Jason .... (I AM going to rant!): Jason would be inordinately better now if only he'd had a good teacher: with all due and becoming modesty, I'd have been a damn' sight better for him than BR: but there we are.   At least Henry Tonks had a whole battery of excellent artists to his credit (and also to theirs, of course) even if he does seem to have been a cold, sarcastic and difficult man; SEEMS, though - he might have been a fluffy little bunny deep down, and we shall never know!  Certainly, the painter of the study above was a man of deep sensitivity - maybe he had an unfortunate manner; he taught Augustus John - a fiery character: a clash between them would have been worth watching.  

Norrette Moore

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I thought I'd check to see where Tonks was living, to see if there's any connection to Hammersmith.  I found him in the 1911 census boarding with friends, the Button family, in Sotley Hampshire.  Also boarding was a stockbroker, Leonard Frederic Harrison. In 1921 Tonks was in Chelsea, I presume his studio, but I don't have free access to that census. Interesting to note that on his death probate form, Leonard Frederic Harrison is mentioned along with Tonk's solictor.