George Price Boyce, RWS,  A receiving house of the Royal Humane Society, probably on the River Thames

Lot description

George Price Boyce, RWS,  British 1826-1897-  A receiving house of the Royal Humane Society, probably on the River Thames;  pencil, watercolour and bodycolour, heightened with gum arabic on paper, 19.7 x 32.1 cm.  Provenance:  Private Collection, UK.  Note:  The sign on the outside of what appears to be a riverside inn identifies it as a receiving house for the Royal Humane Society - a space in which those rescued from the river could be medically treated. The Royal Humane Society was founded in London in 1774 with the intention of saving people from drowning and encouraging rescues. Initially, pub-owners were paid one guinea for allowing a body to be treated in their house, but by the end of the 18th century such financial rewards had been replaced by medals. The first designated receiving house was a farmhouse in Hyde Park, donated by King George III, and situated close to the Serpentine which was popular for swimming and ice-skating. Gradually, branches of the Royal Humane Society were set up across the country in areas where the risk of drowning was high. It is likely that the present work depicts a part of the River Thames near Goring in South Oxfordshire, an area where Boyce frequented.