Portrait of the artist, bust-length, in a red jacket (recto); and Portrait of gentleman, traditionally identified as Thomas Haden, in a brown jacket, sketching (verso)

Details

After Sir Joshua Reynolds; and English School, 18th Century
Portrait of the artist, bust-length, in a red jacket (recto); and Portrait of gentleman, traditionally identified as Thomas Haden, in a brown jacket, sketching (verso)
oil on canvas
30 x 25 1/8 in. (76.2 x 63.8 cm.)

Provenance

(Probably) Gell family, Hopton Hall, Derbyshire, and by descent at Hopton to,
Philip Gell (1775-1842), and by descent to his daughter,
Isabella, wife of William Pole Thornhill, until 1863, when Hopton was inherited, under the terms of her father's will, by,
Henry Chandos-Pole-Gell (1829-1902), Radburne Hall, Derby, and by descent to his grandson,
Lt. Col. John Chandos-Pole (1909-1993) , Newnham Hall, Daventry, and by descent to the present owner.

Literature

A. Graves and W.V. Cronin, A History of the works of Sir Joshua Reynolds P.R.A., London, 1901, IV, p. 1394.
D. Mannings, Sir Joshua Reynolds: A Complete Catalogue of his Paintings, New Haven and London, 2000, p. 48, no. 13c.

Lot Essay

Shown wearing doctoral robes, and with a landscape background, this portrait relates to the picture at Althorp, long considered to be the first version of this composition, though numerous copies exist (see Mannings, op. cit., p. 48, nos. 12 and 13). On the reverse of the present picture is an unfinished portrait, possibly self-portrait, perhaps by the copyist himself.

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