Robert Sherriffs, Original Watercolour of Legendary Cricket Commentator, Sir Neville Cardus Playing the Piano,1944

- An original 1944 caricature of Sir Neville Cardus (1888–1975) by the celebrated Scottish caricaturist and illustrator Robert Sherriffs (1906–1960). - Robert Sherriffs was one of Britain’s foremost mid-20th-century caricaturists and contributed illustrations to publications including Punch, The Sketch and Radio Times. - He became particularly celebrated for his distinctive caricatures of figures from the worlds of theatre, cinema, literature and music. - Examples of Sherriffs’s work are held in important public collections, including the National Portrait Gallery and the Victoria and Albert Museum. - Executed in pen and ink with watercolour and/or gouache on paper. - The composition depicts Cardus seated at a grand piano, elegantly dressed in evening clothes and a black bow tie. - With a cigarette poised between his lips, one hand on the keyboard and the other raised theatrically, Cardus appears completely absorbed in conducting or interpreting the music. - The image cleverly captures Cardus’s remarkable dual career as one of the greatest cricket writers of the 20th century and an exceptionally influential classical-music critic. - Cardus wrote about both cricket and music for The Manchester Guardian, combining considerable knowledge with an unusually poetic and evocative literary style. - The work is prominently signed by Robert Sherriffs, dated “44” for 1944 and personally inscribed “With sincere regards.” - This unusually warm inscription suggests that the drawing may have been presented by Sherriffs to Cardus or to someone personally connected with him. Artist's Signature Signed by the artist, Robert Sherriffs’ with his distinctive signature “WITH SINCERE REGARDS SHERRIFFS 44” on the front of the painting on the bottom right hand corner. Year 1944 Condition This original Pen and Ink and Watercolour has some age-related foxing, brown staining and discolouration, particularly along the upper edge of the Watercolour. Please note that the two brown marks/ staining on the top of the caricature are not foxing. The hanging wire on the back of the original frame was held by two metal clasps and the metal has left two marks on the front of the painting. This original painting has been professionally mounted in a brand new oak frame with a black mount, backing board and new cord hanger. Dimensions L x W x H Frame: 67 cm x 2 cm x 57 cm or 28.37 x 0.78 x 22,44 inches Painting: 39 cm x 29 cm or 15.35 x 11.41 inches Shipping We use trusted couriers in the UK and across the World. We tend to use Royal Mail Special Delivery and Parcelforce 48 in the UK and Transglobal, DHL, Fedex and Royal Mail Worldwide. Purchases are very carefully wrapped and packed using high quality packing materials and extra strong boxes. All parcels are comprehensively insured and sent at the risk of Chapman Pugh Ltd. Free Delivery in the UK (except furniture and large paintings) Please be aware that there maybe customs and/or tax payments due on the parcels arrival in the buyers country. This varies from country to country. Any additional customs and/or tax payments are the responsibility of the buyer. ALL SHIPPING COSTS ARE REFUNDED IF LESS THAN STATED BELOW: Shipping Costs: United Kingdom FREE Europe £33.05 United States £47.50 All Other Zones £50.15 Additional Information Cardus and Cricket In his writing, Cardus changed what had traditionally been a rather prosaic manner of reporting to a more imaginative, descriptive and evocative form of writing about cricket – engaging the reader with not only what he saw but also how he experienced it. John Arlott described Cardus as "the creator of modern cricket writing”. Although primarily a correspondent rather than a player, he did play the game for some years. First playing on waste land close to his home in Rusholme Manchester, as he matured, he developed as an effective medium-paced off break bowler (a rather forgotten style now), and for several seasons from 1908 onwards played as a weekend professional in Manchester league cricket. Please see in photographs, an image of Sir Neville in a rare appearance playing for an MCC side at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on the 1936-37 Ashes tour – widely considered a great series – with Don Bradman on the Australian side. (Attribution Photograph: Popperfoto via Getty Images) Sir Neville wrote many books. He covered ”the glorious game” during the time of such legends as Woolley, Ranjitsinhji, Rhodes, Trumper, Hutton, Bradman and Larwood. “Cardus on Cricket” features a range of writings from 'Cricket', 'Days in the Sun', 'The Summer Game', 'Good Days', 'Australian Summer' and 'The Manchester Guardian'. Finally, a memorable cricket quote by Sir Neville: “There ought to be some other means of reckoning quality in this the best and loveliest of games; the scoreboard is an ass. Neville Cardus.” Cardus and Music As the Manchester Guardian’s chief music critic, he wrote many reviews and according to his contemporary critic Hugo Cole was, surprisingly, "the last distinguished music critic never to have received formal musical training....he was a writer first, and a music critic second". Nevertheless, despite this lack of formal education, it did not stop him expressing his own views which were at times contrary to popular and critical opinion and created frictions when he stuck with them. Despite this, he was a proficient pianist earning multiple certificates and diplomas in piano playing and music theory from, amongst others, the London College of Music, Trinity College of Music London, the Associated Board of the Royal Academy of Music and the Royal College of Music. Sir Neville wrote eight books on music. In these essays, Cardus writes of his love for the great composers. Here is a lovely example of Cardus’s completely individual way of expressing himself about music: “‘Even an ordinary broken chord is made to disclose rare beauties; we are reminded of the fairies’ hazelnuts in which diamonds were concealed but you could break the shell only if your hands were blessed.’