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an image of a painting of a room with a couch and a tablea close up of a wooden frame with a cork board on it
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Estimate €2,000 - €4,000
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Description
PETER KUHFELD United Kingdom 1952 The Drawing Room at Palazzo Barbaro Signed ‘Kuhfeld’ in the bottom right-hand corner Oil on canvas, 79 × 99 cm Peter Kuhfeld is one of the most important contemporary British figurative painters. Trained at the Slade School of Fine Art in London, he was a pupil and assistant to Sir William Coldstream. He is best known for his life-from-nature paintings, portraits and interiors of historic residences, in which he combines a rigorous observation of reality with an extraordinary sensitivity to light and atmosphere. Since 1986, he has received numerous commissions from the British Royal Family, producing official portraits of prominent members of the Royal Household, including Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip and King Charles III. In 2012, he was commissioned by the then Prince of Wales to paint the large commemorative painting marking the marriage of Prince William and Catherine Middleton. On the occasion of Charles III’s coronation in 2023, the sovereign also chose him to paint his official state portrait, which was unveiled in 2025. Kuhfeld’s painting is distinguished by its refined attention to light, perspective and the atmospheric rendering of settings, qualities which find one of their finest expressions in the works he produced during his stays in Venice. Peter Kuhfeld’s connection with Palazzo Barbaro stems from his friendship with the owners of the residence, descendants of the Curtis family, who have looked after the historic palace on the Grand Canal since the late nineteenth century. Thanks to this special relationship, the artist has had the rare opportunity to work inside the palace, depicting its historic rooms, monumental staircases, ornate halls, windows overlooking the Grand Canal and interior views brought to life by Venice’s ever-changing light. For Kuhfeld, Palazzo Barbaro is not merely an exceptional architectural subject, but a place steeped in historical and cultural memory. In his paintings, the spaces take on an intimate and contemplative character: the perspectives of aligned doors, the reflections of the water on the walls, the Venetian-style floors and the windows opening onto the Grand Canal evoke the continuity of artistic life which, since the late nineteenth century, has made the palace one of the most important meeting places between European and American culture. Kuhfeld’s work thus serves as an ideal bridge between the era of the Palazzo Barbaro Circle and contemporary figurative painting. Whilst working in our own time, the artist is part of the great tradition of European painting, looking with particular admiration to the Venetian and Spanish masters. His works dedicated to Palazzo Barbaro help to keep alive the memory of the residence and the Curtis family, reaffirming the palace’s role as a privileged meeting place for art, history and culture.
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About the sale FROM THE CURTIS COLLECTIONS AT PALAZZO BARBARO: PAINTINGS, FURNITURE AND WORKS OF ART
Auction location
Auction time 09/29/2026 at 2:45 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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