Description
An affable connoisseur, John Appleby’s passionate enthusiasm was infectious. He moved to Jersey, in the Channel Islands during the 1970s and traded as a dealer, primarily in watercolours and topographical views of Jersey and the Channel Islands. In 1973, Appleby’s enthusiasm to secure a portrait of the Jersey born actress Lillie Langtry by Sir John Everett Millais, led him to considerably overrun his commission bid from The States of Jersey in order to secure it. Luckily they honoured his bid and it is now one of the jewels of the museum collection. He became an expert in the field keen on sharing his extensive knowledge, and published several books on his specialist subject ranging from ‘The Dictionary of Painters of the Channel Islands’ to a biography of ‘Paul Jacob Naftel’, and ‘Edmund Blampied – A Catalogue Raisonne’.
Christie’s London.