Arthur Hacker (British 1858-1919) Study for 'Piccadilly Circus' Oil on board Signed lower left; signed, titled and dated 1911 verso 34 x 42cm (13¼ x 16½ in.) Arthur Hacker was born in 1858. His father, Edward Hacker, was an engraver and specialised in sporting and animal prints. Arthur Hacker studied at the Royal Academy between 1876 and 1880 and at the Atelier Vonnat in Paris. Hacker was most notable for his grand subject paintings and high Victorian-Edwardian portraiture. However, Hacker's extensive travel across Spain and North Africa also influenced his work and provided the setting for Pelagia and Philammon, held in the Walker Art Gallery. From 1910, on his election to the Royal Academy Hacker produced a series of nocturnal views of London. The works depict the hustle of city nightlife around Piccadilly Circus capturing the rainfall and haze of gaslight across the busy streets of London. The present lot is possibly a study for 'Flare and Flutter: Picadilly Circus at Night, 1912' held in the Brighton and Hove Museums and Art Galleries. Hacker returned to this subject matter a number of time during these years and gifted his diploma work in 1910 to the Royal Academy, titled 'A Wet Night at Piccadilly Circus'.