Portrait of Miss Ridge, bust-length

Details

FOLLOWER OF SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS, P.R.A.
Portrait of Miss Ridge, bust-length
oil on canvas
18 ¾x 15 ½ in. (47.6 x 39.4 cm.)

Provenance

E. F. Haworth, 1846 (according to an inscription on the stretcher).
Frederick Haworth, by 1883; and by whom anonymously sold, Christie's, London, 20 June 1891, lot 130, as Sir J. Reynolds (stock number 38E on the reverse; withdrawn).
Henry Campbell Bruce (1851-1929), 2nd Baron Aberdare, 83 Eaton Square, London, by 1911.
The Trustees of the late Lord Aberdare, from whom acquired in September 1929 by the following,
with M Knoedler, New York, as Sir J. Reynolds, (their inventory no. A954 on the stretcher), where acquired in April 1940 by,
Lucy T. Aldrich (1869-1955), Providence, RI.
with Louis Joseph Auction Galleries, Boston, MA, from where acquired in the late 1960s or early 1970s by,
Linda Bennet, Kensington, NH; her sale, [The Property of Linda Bennett, Kensington, New Hampshire], Barridoff Auctions, South Portland, ME, 7 August 2009, lot 7, as Sir Joshua Reynolds.
with Richard Green, London, as Sir Joshua Reynolds, from whom acquired in 2010 by the present owner.

Literature

(Possibly) A. Graves and W. Cronin, A History of the Works of Sir Joshua Reynolds, II, London, 1899, II, p. 825, as Sir Joshua Ryenolds. (with incorrect provenance).
Sir W. Armstrong, Sir Joshua Reynolds: First President of the Royal Academy, London, 1900, p. 227, as Sir Joshua Reynolds.

Exhibited

London, Grosvenor Gallery, Works of Sir Joshua Reynolds, PRA, 1883, no. 95, as Sir Joshua Reynolds (Lent by Frederick Haworth).

Conditions of sale

Brought to you by

Taylor Alessio Junior Specialist

talessio@christies.com +1 212 636 2295

Lot Essay

The present painting is a repetition of the head and shoulders of Sir Joshua Reynolds' portrait of Miss Ridge, now in the Cincinnati Art Museum (inv. no. 1946.118). The artist has made some alterations to Reynolds' composition, changing the color and shape of the sitter's dress and excluding the landscape background. David Mannings notes that several copies of this composition exist, listing three, though these do not include this painting (see D. Mannings, Sir Joshua Reynolds: A complete catalogue of his paintings, New Haven and London, 2000, p. 392, under no. 1525). The Cincinnati portrait remained in the collection of Reynolds' descendants until 1859, leaving open the possibility that the present work was made by one of the artist's own family members.

More from Old Master Paintings and Sculpture: Part II

View All