Portrait of Samuel Palmer, R.W.S. (1805-1881), bust-length

Details

George Richmond, R.A. (1809-1896)
Portrait of Samuel Palmer, R.W.S. (1805-1881), bust-length
red chalk, fragmentary watermark
7¼ x 5 5/8 in. (18.5 x 14.3 cm.)

Provenance

Anonymous sale; Sotheby's, London, 18 November 1976, lot 188.
Anonymous sale; Sotheby's, New York, 10 July 1980, lot 82.

Literature

G. Grigson, Samuel Palmer, The Visionary Years, London, 1947, pp. 88 and 98.
R. Ormond, Early Victorian Portraits, London, 1973, pp. 354-355. Agnew's in association with W/S Fine Art, Missing Pages George Richmond R.A. 1809-1896, exhibition catalogue, 2001, note no. 41.

Exhibited

London, Peter Nahum at the Leicester Galleries, Burne-Jones, The Pre-Raphaelites and their Century, 1989, no. 2.

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 15% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

The present work was executed circa, 1825-30. The figurative and landscape subjects which Richmond painted in the 1820s were dependent on Palmer's style of painting. His closeness to Palmer at that time is also indicated by the number of portraits of Palmer he produced. Richard Ormond, loc.cit. lists eight portrait drawings and one miniature. The long hair, moustache and beard with which Richmond depicts Palmer were grown during the 1820s while he was living at Shoreham. Richmond may have been considering a religious composition or the present drawing may relate to Richmond's portrayal of Christ in his tempera Christ and the Woman of Samaria, Tate, London or the studies for St Peter, sold Sotheby's, London, 27 November 1975, lot 17.

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