AN ENGLISH CUBIST

WILLIAM ROBERTS:

Mahomet's Ride

Illustration © The Estate of John David Roberts. Reproduced with the permission of the William Roberts Society. Catalogue information based on the catalogue raisonné by David Cleall. For this and full details of the exhibitions cited, see the links below. Any auction prices quoted may not include all fees and taxes, such as VAT and Artist's Resale Right charges.

Mahomet's Ride, c.1967
Oil on canvas, 91.5 cm x 76 cm

The flag being carried appears to be that used by the Kingdom of Egypt in 1923–52, suggesting that the subject matter is not related to the Arab Revolt of 1916–18, the involvement of T. E. Lawrence in which is depicted in Revolt in the Desert 1952 and which was the subject of Lawrence's Seven Pillars of Wisdom, for which Roberts supplied illustrations in the 1920s.
PROVENANCE: Christie's 12 Nov. 1982 (£5,400) > ? > Spink & Son > ? > Christie's 27 Nov. 1997 (estimate £20,000–£30,000; unsold) > ? > Sotheby's 10 Mar. 2005 (£33,600) > Osborne Samuel Gallery > Christie's 13 Dec. 2012 (£73,250) > collection of Richard Ayre and Guy Burch
EXHIBITION HISTORY: Royal Academy 1968