.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
Henry Walton trained under Johann Zoffany (1733-1810), one of the most influential artists of the period, and worked in London, exhibiting paintings at the Royal Academy from 1776. In 1779, Walton moved to Suffolk where he continued to paint for local patrons. It was presumably during this period that he painted this charming double portrait of Mrs. Fuller and her son.
Zoffany’s influence on Walton’s work is clearly evident in this double portrait. In the 1760s and 1770s, Zoffany had successfully revived a genre that had been pioneered and become popular in the early 18th century: the ‘Conversation Piece’. He produced numerous small-scale group portraits, often set in landscape settings, and brought a fresh naturalism and intimacy to the genre, replacing its earlier formality. Walton’s informal portrayal of a mother and son aligns closely with this tradition. The sitters are simply yet elegantly dressed and positioned within an expansive landscape, recalling many of Zoffany’s own compositions.
Osborne Fuller (1711-1794) of Carlton House, Saxmundham, married four times. His last wife Harriet was the daughter of the Reverend James Carter, rector of Relsale, in 1783. Their son, Edward Fuller, was born in 1782 and became High Sheriff and Deputy Lieutenant of Suffolk. He married in 1810 and died in Brighton in 1856.
Zoffany’s influence on Walton’s work is clearly evident in this double portrait. In the 1760s and 1770s, Zoffany had successfully revived a genre that had been pioneered and become popular in the early 18th century: the ‘Conversation Piece’. He produced numerous small-scale group portraits, often set in landscape settings, and brought a fresh naturalism and intimacy to the genre, replacing its earlier formality. Walton’s informal portrayal of a mother and son aligns closely with this tradition. The sitters are simply yet elegantly dressed and positioned within an expansive landscape, recalling many of Zoffany’s own compositions.
Osborne Fuller (1711-1794) of Carlton House, Saxmundham, married four times. His last wife Harriet was the daughter of the Reverend James Carter, rector of Relsale, in 1783. Their son, Edward Fuller, was born in 1782 and became High Sheriff and Deputy Lieutenant of Suffolk. He married in 1810 and died in Brighton in 1856.