The London Artists' Association, where acquired by Leonard Elmhirst, 1st December 1931 (as The Family)
Gifted byౠ Dorothy Elmhirst to The Dartington Hall Trust, 25th March 196♐5

Dartington Hall, High Cross House, 2001, 2007 - 2010.

The sheet is sound. The sheet is not laid down but has been adhered to the mount along the upper edge and in the bottom corners. There are artist's pinholes in the corners and the right edge of the sheet is uneven, none of which is visible in the current mount. The work is in generally good overall condition with strong bright colours throughout. Held under glass in a stained wood frame with a cream mount. Please telephone the department on 020 7293 6424 if you have any questions regarding the present work.
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Sarah and William Roberts' son John David Roberts was born on 6^th June 1919 and at the time Bath Night was executed, John would have been approximately 10 years old. The family's financial circumstances were very poor during the 1920s and the 1930s and they lived in a number of small rented flats. Whilst this scene is not necessarily a literal depiction of John being bathed by Sarah, with William Roberts reading the newspaper, it is nevertheless a scene that probably draws quite closely on the Roberts' domestic experience. Sarah and John would serve as models for William Roberts throughout their lives, sometimes quite directly. However, Roberts also created characters in his paintings that are more generalised types built upon observed gestures, postures, facial expressions and clothes whilst not being actual portraits. This is probably the case with this work. This is a study for a larger oil entitled The Wash, previously in the collection of Sir Kenneth Clark and given to Bolton Museum and Art Gallery in 1940 (reproduced in Andrew Heard, William Roberts, Hatton Gallery, 2004, p. 64). A pencil study for this work also exists. William Roberts returned to this subject in Woman Bathing Child (Bathing the Baby), 1939 in a watercolour formerly in the The Evill / Frost Collection (sold in these rooms, 16th June 2011, lot 171 for £30,000).

We are grateful to David Cleall for his kind assistance with the cataloguing of this work.