SOLD....Portrait of an Officer 1917, by Leon Sprinck
Price
POAItem Ref
8609
Description
Oil on canvas in gilt frame. Signed and dated 'Leon Sprinck 1917', lower right.A good and insightful portrait of a British army captain painted during World War One; in 1917 the war had a year to run.
The sitter wears the red hatband and tabs of an officer of the General Staff but, to judge by his decorations he had seen action, as amongst their number is the D.S.O.
(The Distinguished Service Order was awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, usually in actual combat. It is typically awarded to officers ranked Major (or its equivalent) or higher, but the honour has sometimes been awarded to especially valorous junior officers. 8,981 DSOs were awarded during the First World War, each award being announced in the London Gazette.)
The identity of the young officer is unknown as is whether he survived the Great War.
LEON SPRINCK was a fashionable artist of Russian stock, he painted many aristocrats and members of the gentry. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries he exhibited at the Royal Academy, London, the Royal Hibernian Academy and the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool. He lived at Portland Place in London.
SIZE: 39 x 34 inches inc. frame.
PROVENANCE: Collection of a retired army officer, Westmoreland country house.
Verso; old storage label " A & N.C.S.L. No.25. Mrs. Wickham April 1972".
Internal Ref: 8609
This item is SOLD and is no longer available to purchase.
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