Louis Haghe (March 17, 1806, Tournai, Belgium - March 9, 1885, Surrey) was a lithographer and watercolour artist by royal appointment to Her Majesty Queen Victoria in the 19th Century.

This magnificent watercolour depicting The Great Exhibition, Crystal Palace London is signed and dated c1851 (89cms x 68cms).

Offered for sale by The Cotswold Auction Company at The Bingham Hall, Cirencester, Gloucestershire on Friday 23rd May 2008 @ 10am. Estimate: £4000 - £6000.

The idea of an international exhibition in London was first suggested by Henry Cole. The idea was fully supported by Prince Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria, who a keen interest in the arts and sciences. Albert presided over the Royal Commission that raised the money for the Great Exhibition held in London’s Hyde Park between May and October, 1851. The exhibition was housed in a specially constructed Crystal Palace, a vast glass and iron structure designed by Joseph Paxton.

The 13,000 exhibits were seen by 6.2 million people who came to London to celebrate Britain’s successful industrial achievements. The profits of this successful venture was used for educational purposes. This included the building of the Royal Albert Hall, the Royal College of Music and Imperial College of Science and Technology and the museums in South Kensington.

Louis Haghe’s father and grandfather had practised as architects. Training in his teens in watercolour painting, he found work in the relatively new art of lithography when the first press was set up in Tournai. He visited England to find work, and settled there permanently in 1823.

Together with William Day (1797 - 1845), around 1830 he formed the partnership Day & Haghe, which became the most famous early Victorian firm of lithographic printing in London. Day and Haghe printed lithographs dealing with a wide range of subjects, such as hunting scenes, topographical views and genre depictions.

In 1838, Day and Haghe were appointed ‘Lithographers to the Queen’. After William’s death in 1845, the firm became known as ‘Day & Son’. They were pioneers in developing the medium of the lithograph printed in colours.

From the 1850’s Haghe concentrated more on his watercolours, and became president of the New Society of Painters in Water Colours from 1873 to 1884. Haghe’s artistic works were achieved in spite of a deformity in his right hand since birth, making this masterwork all the more extraordinary.

The Cotswold Auction Company - Salerooms in Cheltenham, Cirencester and Gloucester.

Bingham Hall Saleroom, King Street, Cirencester, GL7 1JT
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Telephone 01285 644786 (sale week only) 01242 256363 (10am - 5.30pm Mon - Fri).

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Posted: 05|17|08 at 9:21 pm. Filed under: Press Release.