LONDON.- When Sir Alfred Munnings (1878-1959) first painted the glamorous and formidable Abigail Prince, she gave him clear instructions to paint her in the style of an 1830s Lancer of the Spanish army. "This is my own portrait, and nobody else's," she announced to the British master. "You are to paint me like that."
When Munnings produced Portrait of Mrs. Abigail Prince, which will be offered in
Bonhams' 19th Century European, Victorian and British Impressionist Art sale on 2 March, it seemed he had regained a little autonomy. The striking watercolour is a charming combination of Munnings' signature compositional style and Abigail Prince's bold character. It is estimated at £40,000-60,000.
The wife of wealthy American financier, Frederick H. Prince, Abigail was a member of one of America's most elite families and led a lifestyle reminiscent of The Great Gatsby. Reflecting in his autobiography, Munnings described Mr. Prince as having "a royal way of doing things … I doubt if he knew how many horses he had, how many polo ponies." As for Abigail: "there could only be one Mrs. Prince in the world."
Renowned for being consistently late to everything, for making grand entrances and for her exceptionally extravagant wardrobe, Mrs. Prince was one of the most talked about members of American high society in the Roaring Twenties. Whenever she had to travel by train or ship, she instructed her maids to cover her entire compartment with large white sheets so that she would not have to touch anything that had been in contact with members of the public. Her couture collection now belongs to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and was featured in its 2010 exhibition, American Women: Fashioning a National Identity.
Munnings first met the Princes while dining at the English Club in London and was invited to stay with the family at their main residence, Princemere, near Boston, when he travelled to America in 1924. Munnings described his stay there are "gloriously mad" and it was here that Portrait of Mrs. Abigail Prince was most likely produced.
Munnings himself was an interesting man. One of Britain's most celebrated artists, who did not let the loss of an eye in an accident in 1898 stand in the way of his desire to paint, he caused enormous controversy by announcing on national radio in 1949 that Picasso, Matisse and the Modernists had corrupted the world of art.
"Portrait of Mrs. Abigail Prince is a work that is absolutely packed with character," said Charles O'Brien, Bonhams Director of 19th Century Paintings. "Beneath the confident brushstrokes and the beautiful colours, the mood is distinctly playful. It has an illustrious appeal that perfectly matches its subject."
The 2 March sale will take place at Bonhams New Bond Street.
