The 'lost' Bonnet Portrait of Emily Bronte (?)
May 11 2021
Picture: Humbert & Ellis Ltd
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Craven Herald in North Yorkshire have published news of the upcoming sale of what has been described as The 'lost' Bonnet Portrait of Emily Brontë.
The work is being sold from the estate of late Professor Christopher Heywood of Gargrave, a professor of English literature at the University of Sheffield who dedicated much of his time trying to prove his painting depicted the famed author. Indeed, Heywood had purchased the painting at auction in 2011 and published an article on the portrait in The Journal of the Bronte Society in 2015. Notably, the back of the portrait, which he attributed to the Bradford artist John Hunter Thompson, bears an inscription on the back identifying the sitter as Emily.
Heywood's article has been disputed by several figures, including Sarah Fermi - a former Bronte Society member, literary critic Patsy Stoneman and a Bronte biographer Edward Chitham.
The work will be sold on Saturday 23rd May 2021 carrying an estimate of £25k - £40k.
As the old saying goes, CAVEAT EMPTOR.
