William Grimaldi (British, 1751-1830)

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Details

William Grimaldi (British, 1751-1830)
Sir Joshua Reynolds, P.R.A. (1723-1792)
Signed and dated ‘W Grimaldi AR 1791’ (mid-right)
On ivory
Oval, 100 mm. high, gilt-metal mount on a black lacquered panel with gilt-metal motto of the Order of the Garter

Provenance

Sir Joshua Reynolds, P.R.A. and by descent to his niece:
Mary Palmer, Marchioness of Thomond (1750-1820); and by descent
Lady Emily Anna Colomb of Dromquinna, Kenmare, Co. Kerry (d. 1907).
With Leo R. Schidlof, from whom acquired by Ernst Holzscheiter in Paris, 31 August 1937 (inv. nos. MD/0576 and 253).

Literature

Williamson 1904, p. 197, illustrated pl. LXIX.
Walker 1992, p. 333.

Exhibited

This or another version, Royal Academy, London, in 1792.

Special notice

Prospective purchasers are advised that several countries prohibit the importation of property containing materials from endangered species, including but not limited to coral, ivory and tortoiseshell. Accordingly, prospective purchasers should familiarize themselves with relevant customs regulations prior to bidding if they intend to import this lot into another country. These lots have been imported from outside the EU for sale using a Temporary Import regime. Import VAT is payable (at 5%) on the Hammer price. VAT is also payable (at 20%) on the buyer’s Premium on a VAT inclusive basis. When a buyer of such a lot has registered an EU address but wishes to export the lot or complete the import into another EU country, he must advise Christie's immediately after the auction.

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Lot Essay

Williamson (supra) describes the present work as ‘the finest portrait of his [Grimaldi]…… is a striking likeness, full of force and vivacity’. Grimaldi has used Reynolds’s self-portrait of circa 1788 as his model. This self-portrait was given to George IV by Reynolds’s heir and niece, Mary Palmer, Marchioness of Thomond and is still in the Royal Collection (RCIN 400699). Grimaldi 1873 records two watercolour miniatures of Reynolds painted in 1792, no. 51 ‘one of his earliest and best miniatures’ and no. 426 ‘duplicate of no. 51, probably of the same date’. One of these watercolours is now in the Royal Collection (RCIN 420828) having been acquired by the Prince of Wales and is listed in the Grimaldi Accounts for 21 May 1792: ‘To a Miniature of Sir Josha Reynolds with Seting [sic] & As Bill delivered £67. 3. 6’. Grimaldi 1873 (supra) also records five enamel portraits of Reynolds: nos. 9, 13, 15, 18 (offered for sale Christie’s, London, 9 November 1994, lot 28) and 20 (sold Sotheby’s, London, 14 July 2010, lot 31) and four pencil drawings (nos. 38, 39, 118 and 141).

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