NEW YORK, NY.- Edwin Lord Weeks’ “A View of Jerusalem” is among the highlights in Bonhams’ May 7 sale of 19th century European art and Old Master paintings (est. $300,000-500,000). Weeks created the work in response to his life-changing excursion through Egypt, the Holy Land and Syria in 1871. The remarkable journey set him on a path to renown as one of the most important American Orientalist painters of the 19th century.

Executed in the early 1870s, the dramatic panorama is one of Weeks’ earliest known compositions. It represents an ambitious attempt by the young artist to portray the complex interlocking architecture of Jerusalem. The scene depicts locals encamped under giant cypress trees, clustered near rocky earthen forms and grassy outcroppings, the animals and berms sculpted into irregular hillocks.

“Edwin Weeks was a native of Boston and the son of wealthy tea and spice merchants, who likely encouraged and financed their son’s travels,” explained Madalina Lazen, Bonhams European Paintings Specialist. “The painting on offer captures a formative time in Weeks’ career. He had discovered his calling as an orientalist painter, but had yet to embark on his formal training in Paris. It’s an impressive achievement that offers exceptional insight into his artistic development.”

Additional highlights include a tender composition by William Adolphe Bouguereau, entitled “A Portrait of Eva and Frances Johnston” (est. $400,000-600,000). The expertly rendered painting depicts the daughters of railroad tycoon and prominent American art collector John Taylor Johnston - one of the founders of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and its original president. The portrait has remained within the family ever since Johnston commissioned it in 1869.

Also on offer is a luminescent neoclassical tableau from Emile Eisman-Semenowsky entitled “A Harvest Festival” (est. $80,000-120,000). Primarily a painter of fashionable Parisian women and languid oriental odalisques, Semenowsky sets the Roman festival of Cerealia in a fantastic Mediterranean paradise. This large, multi-figured work is the most ambitious known composition by Semenowsky.

French examples abound in the sale, including an important, early composition by Jean-François Raffaëlli, “Promenade au bord de l'eau,” which has been in private hands for 25 years (est. $60,000-80,000). Raffaëlli was a multifaceted artist with an interest in music and acting, before becoming a painter in 1870. In 1877 he made the acquaintance of Degas, who invited him to participate at the Impressionist exhibitions of 1880 and 1881. Success was quick to follow. Despite his popularity, he was considered a champion of the urban poor, and until 1890, his paintings displayed an uncompromising social realism quite unique for the period.

The 19th century European painting sale, including Old Master paintings, will take place at Bonhams New York on May 7. The sale will preview at Bonhams May 3-7.