When we first came across this painting we were uncertain if attributing it to 'Old Walls, Lyme' was correct. The owner did not know the title of the painting or where it was bought from, but thought that it might have come from The French Gallery, London. A distant relative had some association with the gallery, and it had been passed down through the family line ever since.
We did not realise then that Richard continued to show paintings regularly with the Goupil Gallery right through the 1930s, in addition to having his regular exhibitions at the Redfern Gallery. We also did not know that from 1933 the Goupil Gallery shared premises with The French Gallery and that Richard was a steady contributor to the Goupil salons there. We also found a record in Richard's sales diary which established Mrs Marchant, director of the Goupil Gallery, had bought 'Old Walls, Lyme Regis' for her personal collection from the 1933 Salon show, along with Portland Harbour (1932).
This all connects with the family story, so we are now confident about the attribution, partly thanks to a sharp-eyed Eurich owner coming across a collection of Goupil Gallery catalogues in the V&A which clarified some of the details.
- REP-PC
