English painter (1811-1880). Autograph letter signed. Kensington. 8vo, 3 pages on stationery.
$ 162 / 140 €
(88460/BN58302)
Letter to friends negotiating the sale of his mother's art collection of proofs, i. e. unpublished art prints, by J.M.W Turner. Cooke's mother is offering an almost complete set of 38 proofs after Turner on French paper, together with 17 additional miscellaneous art prints for a total of 100£: "A set of unlettered Southern Coast proofs on French paper (rare, not having been published) & also 17 proofs & prints after Turner & which she would also part with, the whole for £100. There are seven wanting in the set, two of which are only vignettes & one plate Clovelly is not on French paper.
There are however 38 proofs among them after Turner & very fine impressions". Among the 17 added proofs is a six finished proofs, of which one is very valuable: "on very large paper Florence is one which bears a high value - an ordinary proof having brought at a sale five guineas". Cooke stresses that he won't lower the price of a 100£. - E. W. Cooke was an English painter of landscapes and marine motives. He first exhibited at the "Royal Academy" and the "British Institution" in 1835. Aside from his work as a painter, Cooke was involved in natural history, geology, and gardening and he was elected as a fellow of the "The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge" in 1863..