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Lot Essay
The attribution to Greenhill is supported by comparison with other recorded drawings by the artist, particularly the self-portrait in the British Museum (see E. Croft-Murray and P. Hulton, Catalogue of British Drawings, XVI & XVII Centuries, London, 1960, I, pp. 339-40, II, pl. 141). Greenhill's drawing style is closely influenced by that of Sir Peter Lely, to whom he was apprenticed, before establishing himself as an independent portrait painter circa 1667. George Vertue (1684-1756) described Greenhill as Lely's 'most excellent disciple'.
According to the portraitist Thomas Gibson (1680-1751), Greenhill's crayon portraits were 'done...with great skill and perfection equal to any master whatever' (E. Croft-Murray and P. Hulton, op. cit., p. 339). A portrait of Greenhill by Lely, datable to 1662 when the sitter would have been 22, is also in the British Museum (ibid., I, pp. 417-8, II, pl. 213). The present drawing has been dated to circa 1660.
We are grateful to Dr Kim Sloan of the British Museum and Diana Dethloff for their help in cataloguing the present drawing.
According to the portraitist Thomas Gibson (1680-1751), Greenhill's crayon portraits were 'done...with great skill and perfection equal to any master whatever' (E. Croft-Murray and P. Hulton, op. cit., p. 339). A portrait of Greenhill by Lely, datable to 1662 when the sitter would have been 22, is also in the British Museum (ibid., I, pp. 417-8, II, pl. 213). The present drawing has been dated to circa 1660.
We are grateful to Dr Kim Sloan of the British Museum and Diana Dethloff for their help in cataloguing the present drawing.