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Lot Essay
The sitters were the children of Sampson Copestake (d.1781) of Kirk Langley and his second wife Elizabeth Taylor. Sampson, the younger was born on the 25 March 1726 and died in 1816. His property was inherited by his two sisters, Elizabeth (shown in this portrait) and Anne. Elizabeth married the Rev. James Bingham, Rector of Emperson, Nottingham and Anne married Henry Goodall of Kirk Langley.
These portraits are superb examples of Wright's early work. The influence of Thomas Hudson, the foremost painter of his generation in London, under whom he had trained, is evident, however, Wright has invested the portraits with a new liveliness and lightness which is entirely his own. Wright's mastery of drapery, a talent which on occasion led both Hudson and Allan Ramsay to employ him to finish the drapery in their own pictures, is particularly evident in his portrait of Elizabeth Copestake.
These portraits are superb examples of Wright's early work. The influence of Thomas Hudson, the foremost painter of his generation in London, under whom he had trained, is evident, however, Wright has invested the portraits with a new liveliness and lightness which is entirely his own. Wright's mastery of drapery, a talent which on occasion led both Hudson and Allan Ramsay to employ him to finish the drapery in their own pictures, is particularly evident in his portrait of Elizabeth Copestake.