{"id":3208,"date":"2025-04-29T17:01:43","date_gmt":"2025-04-29T17:01:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sireneartgallery.com\/?page_id=3208"},"modified":"2025-04-29T17:01:43","modified_gmt":"2025-04-29T17:01:43","slug":"reception-in-the-harem","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sireneartgallery.com\/index.php\/reception-in-the-harem\/","title":{"rendered":"Reception in the Harem"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Reception in the Harem: Discovered Masterpiece by John Frederick Lewis Shatters Expectations, Selling for Almost $1.5 Million<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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BY ALBERT CHEN<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A long-lost watercolour by the renowned British artist John Frederick Lewis has commanded an impressive \u00a31,137,400 (approximately $1,485,000) at Bonhams<\/strong><\/a>\u2018 19th Century & Orientalist Paintings sale held today, 26 March, at the auction house\u2019s New Bond Street location in London. The painting, A Reception in the Harem<\/em>, has not been seen in public for over 60 years and had remained in the same private collection since 1961.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Charles O\u2019Brien, Head of 19th Century Paintings at Bonhams, expressed his excitement over the sale, stating,\u00a0\u201cA Reception in the Harem is an extraordinary watercolour, rich in intricate detail and vibrant jewel-like colours, hallmarks of Lewis\u2019s celebrated style. This work\u2019s reappearance after more than six decades is a true gem, and it\u2019s no surprise it caught the attention of collectors eager to acquire a piece by one of the greatest British Orientalist painters.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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John Frederick Lewis (1804-1876) is considered one of the foremost British artists of the 19th century, known for his exceptional skill in both oil and watercolour painting. In 1855, he was elected President of London\u2019s Old Watercolour Society, and by 1865, he had become a full member of the Royal Academy. Lewis\u2019s time spent in Egypt during the 1840s had a profound influence on his work, and his paintings of the Middle East and North Africa\u2014produced after 1850\u2014became synonymous with the Orientalist movement.<\/ins><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A master of technique, Lewis invented a method of combining watercolour pigments with Chinese white, creating a luminous effect that rivalled the appearance of oil paintings. In the 1860s, he would often produce two nearly identical versions of his works: one in oil for exhibition and one in watercolour, designed specifically for private collectors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Reception in the Harem<\/em>\u00a0is a larger-scale version of an oil painting by Lewis housed at the Yale Center for British Art in New Haven, Connecticut, further cementing its significance in the artist\u2019s body of work. The rediscovery of this exceptional piece highlights not only the lasting appeal of Lewis\u2019s work but also the ongoing fascination with Orientalism in art, as collectors continue to seek out masterpieces that offer a glimpse into the exotic worlds explored by 19th-century European artists. This record-breaking sale at Bonhams further underscores the growing interest in 19th-century British art and the enduring legacy of one of its most accomplished painters.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Reception in the Harem: Discovered Masterpiece by John Frederick Lewis Shatters Expectations, Selling for Almost $1.5 Million BY ALBERT CHEN A long-lost watercolour by the renowned British artist John Frederick Lewis has commanded an impressive \u00a31,137,400 (approximately $1,485,000) at Bonhams\u2018 19th Century & Orientalist Paintings sale held today, 26 March, at the auction house\u2019s New Bond Street location in London. The painting, A Reception in the Harem, has not been seen in public for over 60 years and had remained in the same private collection since 1961. Charles O\u2019Brien, Head of 19th Century Paintings at Bonhams, expressed his excitement over the sale, stating,\u00a0\u201cA Reception in the Harem is an extraordinary watercolour, rich in intricate detail and vibrant jewel-like colours, hallmarks of Lewis\u2019s celebrated style. This work\u2019s reappearance after more than six decades is a true gem, and it\u2019s no surprise it caught the attention of collectors eager to acquire a piece by one of the greatest British Orientalist painters.\u201d John Frederick Lewis (1804-1876) is considered one of the foremost British artists of the 19th century, known for his exceptional skill in both oil and watercolour painting. In 1855, he was elected President of London\u2019s Old Watercolour Society, and by 1865, he had become a full member of the Royal Academy. Lewis\u2019s time spent in Egypt during the 1840s had a profound influence on his work, and his paintings of the Middle East and North Africa\u2014produced after 1850\u2014became synonymous with the Orientalist movement. A master of technique, Lewis invented a method of combining watercolour pigments with Chinese white, creating a luminous effect that rivalled the appearance of oil paintings. In the 1860s, he would often produce two nearly identical versions of his works: one in oil for exhibition and one in watercolour, designed specifically for private collectors. A Reception in the Harem\u00a0is a larger-scale version of an oil painting by Lewis housed at the Yale Center for British Art in New Haven, Connecticut, further cementing its significance in the artist\u2019s body of work. The rediscovery of this exceptional piece highlights not only the lasting appeal of Lewis\u2019s work but also the ongoing fascination with Orientalism in art, as collectors continue to seek out masterpieces that offer a glimpse into the exotic worlds explored by 19th-century European artists. This record-breaking sale at Bonhams further underscores the growing interest in 19th-century British art and the enduring legacy of one of its most accomplished painters.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-3208","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sireneartgallery.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3208","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sireneartgallery.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sireneartgallery.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sireneartgallery.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sireneartgallery.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3208"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sireneartgallery.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3208\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3212,"href":"https:\/\/sireneartgallery.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3208\/revisions\/3212"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sireneartgallery.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3208"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}