William Edward West (1801-1861)

Portrait of George Gordon, 6th Lord Byron (1788-1824), bust-length, in a white shirt

Details

William Edward West (1801-1861)
Portrait of George Gordon, 6th Lord Byron (1788-1824), bust-length, in a white shirt
with inscription 'Lord ... He sat for this portrait in Pisa (?) at ... Studio. It came ...' (on an old label on the reverse)
oil on canvas, oval, unframed
22 x 18 in. (56.5 x 45.7 cm.)

Provenance

Believed to have been purchased directly from the artist's estate, and by descent to the vendor.

Lot Essay

The present picture is believed to have been hidden beneath floorboards in a house in Nashville during the American War of Independence. The vendor's family also owned a portrait by West of the sculptor Thorvaldsen, which was given to the Thorvaldsen Museum in Copenhagen in the 1970s. Other versions of this portrait of Byron, the celebrated poet and champion of liberty, are in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery and in the Vaughan Library, Harrow.

More from British Pictures

View All