God Speed is a painting by British artist Edmund Leighton, depicting an armored knight departing to war and leaving his beloved. The painting was exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts in 1900.[1] God Speed was the first of several paintings by Leighton during the 1900s on the subject of chivalry, including The Accolade (1901) and The Dedication (1908).

God Speed
ArtistEdmund Leighton
Year1900
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions160 cm × 116 cm (63 in × 46 in)
LocationPrivate collection

Composition

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A woman ties a red sash around a knight's arm,[2] bidding farewell before battle.

When the painting was ready for transportation to the Royal Academy, Leighton made a last-moment change in the studio.[3] He scraped out the work of a week and within two hours made his desired change.[3]

Provenance

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After being bought from Leighton, the painting was owned by several people in succession and eventually was put up for sale at Christie's in 1988.[1] It was then housed in an American private collection and in 2000 was again submitted to Christie's.[1]

In 2007, the painting appeared at Sotheby's and then in a British private collection.[1] On 10 May 2012, God Speed was sold again through Sotheby's in London to a private collector for £481,250.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Lot 26". Sotheby's. Retrieved 28 June 2014.
  2. ^ "Leighton | 19th century european paintings". Sotheby's. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  3. ^ a b Rudolph De Cordova. "The Art of Mr. E. Blair Leighton". ArtMagick. Archived from the original on 18 September 2016. Retrieved 28 July 2016.