Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (1780-1867)

Catherine Anne Douglas (née North, 1760-1867), Lady Glenbervie London, 1820/21 Lithograph 315 x 220 mm This lithograph portrait of Lady Glenbervie was produced after an original drawing by Ingres, created in Rome in 1816. She wears a large decorated English bonnet with her hair curled fashionably around the face. The highwaisted and long-sleeved silk dress … Read more

Jean Morin (c. 1590-1650)

Omer Talon  Paris, early 1650s Engraving Mount: 55.7 x 40.5 cm  This portrait is based on Philippe de Champaigne’s full-length painting of Omer Talon (1595-1652) produced in 1649. Champaigne was a founder of the French Academy in the mid 17th century and is best known for his portraits of royalty and important political figures. Talon’s … Read more

Percy Wyndham Lewis (1882-1957)

A Portrait of the Artist’s Wife, ‘Froanna’ (Gladys Anne Hoskins 1900-1979) America, 1940 Pencil and coloured chalks on blue paper 48.3 x 31 cm This portrait of the artist’s wife Gladys Hoskins (1900-1979), known as Froanna, was made in America where Lewis spent the war years. The artist bought the distinctive blue paper in a … Read more

All the World’s a Stage

Court, Patrons & Writers in Shakespeare’s Circle Marking the 400th anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare, this exhibition, the Barber’s first ever exploring Elizabethan and Jacobean art, focuses on the Bard’s chief patrons at court, and on other leading writers – rivals and associates. Organised in collaboration with the National Portrait Gallery, London, it features … Read more

Anthony Van Dyck (1599-1641)

Lucas Vorsterman Antwerp, about 1630 Etching 248 X 160 MM Lucas Vorsterman (1595-1675) was a talented engraver who was employed by Rubens to create reproductions of the master’s work until a violent dispute ended their relationship. This engraving is one of 80 prints that appeared in Van Dyck’s series ‘portraits of famous men’, later known … Read more

Charles Le Brun (1619-1690)

Louis XIV Paris, about 1663 Black, red and white chalk 435 X 352 MM This study of Louis XIV (1638-1715) was drawn from life when the king was aged 25 and had been suffering from scarlet fever.  Le Brun was particularly interested in how a person’s face could reveal their personality. Here the King is … Read more

Wenceslaus Hollar (1607-1677)

Queen Henrietta Maria London, 1641 Etching Henrietta Maria (1609-1669) was the daughter of Henri IV of France and the wife of Charles I. Although her Roman Catholicism alienated many of her subjects, she gave strong and devoted support to her husband. Wenceslaus Hollar was a prolific artist, producing nearly 2,800 prints and many watercolours and … Read more

ÉDOUARD MANET (1832-1883)

Charles Baudelaire Paris, 1865 Etching Composed after a photograph by the French photographer Nadar, this etching captures the immediacy of the original photographic image. The short busy lines swirl across the paper to build up the likeness of the art critic and poet Charles Baudelaire. Nadar took a direct approach to his portraiture, intending to … Read more

The Modernist Face

Smith, Dobson & British Portraiture 1920-60 A snapshot through the lens of Modernism, this fascinating exhibition explores and juxtaposes the work of two under-appreciated British artists: sculptor Frank Dobson and painter Matthew Smith. Discussing the dynamic relationshop between sitter and artist within the broader cultural context of the period, it features such celebrated contributors to … Read more

Joshua Reynolds (1723 – 1792)

Joshua Reynolds Maria Marow Gideon and her Brother, William London, 1786/7 Oil on canvas 240 x 148 cm Maria (1767-1834) and William (1775-1805) were the children of Sir Sampson Gideon, who paid Reynolds £300 for this painting in 1787. Maria later married Gregory, 14th Lord Saye and Sele, whilst William, having risen to the rank … Read more

Jacopo Robusti, called Tintoretto (1518 – 1594)

A Portrait of a Young Man Venice, 1554 Oil on canvas 121 x 93.3 cm The inscription records that this portrait was painted ‘in the year 1554 in the month of May [or March], in the 22nd year of his age’.  Unfortunately, the identity of the young man has been lost.  However, the three-quarter-length format, … Read more

Luca Signorelli (about 1441 – 1523)

A Portrait of Niccolò Vitelli Città di Castello, central Italy, about 1492-6 Oil on wood 44.2 x 33 cm Niccolò Vitelli (1414 – 1486) was a ruthless mercenary commander who established his family as rulers of Città di Castello.  This portrait was painted after his death.  It was probably commissioned by his sons as a … Read more

Peter Paul Rubens (1577 – 1640)

A Portrait of a Carmelite Prior Antwerp, about 1616 Oil on wood 79.5 x 65.5 cm A man dressed in the austere habit of the Carmelite order prays in front of a crucifix.  The order was dedicated to contemplative prayer.  The man’s identity is not known, but his rapt gaze and the sympathetic treatment of … Read more

George Romney (1734-1802)

A Portrait of John Smith London, 1782 Oil on canvas 127 x 101.6 cm John Smith (1703-1787) is shown seated against a window with a snuff box in his left hand.  He was a successful merchant who had some interest in the arts.  He would have been seventy-nine when he sat for this portrait, which … Read more

JOSHUA REYNOLDS (1723 – 1792)

A Portrait of the Reverend William Beele Devonport, about 1748 Oil on canvas 76.2 x 63.5 cm William Beele (1704-1757) was appointed a naval chaplain in 1727 and he was stationed at Devonport where this portrait was painted. He is shown half-length, framed by an oval-shaped stone niche.  The artist has slightly enlarged the sitter’s … Read more

JOSHUA REYNOLDS (1723-1792)

A Portrait of a Young Man Devonport, about 1746 Oil on canvas 34.3 x 24.1 cm This portrait’s small scale has led to speculation about its function. Reynolds began his career as a portraitist in Devonport and it has been suggested that the man is a naval officer who wanted to take an image of … Read more

Nicolaes Maes (1634 – 1693)

A Portrait of a Lady Amsterdam, the mid-1670s Oil on canvas 113.6 x 89.5 cm The identity of this fashionably-dressed woman posed in a landscape is not known.  The costume and her hairstyle suggest a date from the mid-1670s, after Maes had moved to Amsterdam and when he took up painting society portraits.  Maes had … Read more

Thomas Lawrence (1769-1830)

Portrait of a Lady London, the early 1790s Oil on canvas 73.6 x 60.9 cm The sitter’s identity has unfortunately been lost, but stylistic and costume evidence suggests a date in the early 1790s.  Lawrence had just then arrived in London where he achieved instant success at the Royal Academy’s exhibition, setting him on his … Read more

Edgar Degas (1834 – 1917)

Mademoiselle Malo Paris, the early 1870s Pastel on paper 522 X 411 MM Mademoiselle Malo has not been conclusively identified, but apparently she was a dancer at the Paris Opéra.  Degas began to use pastel for portrait studies in the 1870s and this fine example is one of the earliest.  Degas appreciated the qualities of … Read more

André Derain (1880 – 1954)

Portrait of Bartolomeo Savona London, 1906 Oil on canvas 45.7 x 35.4 cm Savona was a Sicilian student who was staying in the guest house Derain used during his visit to London in 1906.  According to family legend, Savona acted as the artist’s translator when he needed to visit a dentist.  He then painted this … Read more

Maurice Denis (1870 – 1943)

A Portrait of Arthur Huc Paris, 1892 Oil on millboard 28.5 x 53.5 cm This portrait was given by Denis to his patron and supporter Arthur Huc (1854 – 1932).  He was an art critic and newspaper owner in Toulouse.  The artist adopts an unusual horizontal format, allowing him to frame the nonchalantly-posed figure with … Read more

Govert Flinck (1615 – 1660)

A Portrait of a Boy Amsterdam, 1640 Oil on canvas 73.3 x 91.8 cm This engaging portrait possibly shows David Leeuw who would have been about eight years old in 1640.  He was related to the artist and was the son of a wealthy businessman and art collector.  The full-length pose and the boy’s fashionable … Read more

Edouard Manet (1832 – 1883)

A Portrait of Carolus-Duran Montgeron, near Paris, 1876 Oil on canvas 191.8 x 172.7 cm Manet painted this study of the portraitist Emile-Auguste Carolus-Duran (1838 – 1917) when staying at a patron’s country estate near Paris.  The two artists were old friends and they agreed to paint each other.  Carolus-Duran is shown in riding boots … Read more

ROSALBA CARRIERA (1675-1757)

A Portrait of Gustavus Hamilton, 2nd Viscount Boyne (1710 – 1746) Venice, about 1730 – 1 Pastel, heightened with white bodycolour on paper 597 x 476 mm This striking portrait of Lord Boyne shows him in Venetian carnival dress, wearing a fine ermine trimmed coat, a bauta or lace veil, black tricorn hat and a … Read more