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Lot Essay
Hamilton was born in Dublin in 1739 but relocated to London in the early 1760s where his skills in portraiture attracted commissions from numerous patrons, including the Royal Family, for whom he executed a number of portraits that are now in the Royal Collection.
In 1778 Hamilton followed the migration of his well-heeled sitters to Rome, and remained in Italy until 1792, painting many British visitors and bringing the full-length portrait in pastel to a new height. Whilst many of Hamilton's clients required nothing more from him than a small-scale likeness of themselves, a few allowed the artist to give vent to his imaginative powers in full-length and three-quarter-length pictures. It was in these works that Hamilton produced his greatest masterpieces, inspired by the Grand Tour portraits made fashionable by the artist Pompeii Batoni.
We are grateful to William Laffan for confirming the attribution on the basis of photographs.
In 1778 Hamilton followed the migration of his well-heeled sitters to Rome, and remained in Italy until 1792, painting many British visitors and bringing the full-length portrait in pastel to a new height. Whilst many of Hamilton's clients required nothing more from him than a small-scale likeness of themselves, a few allowed the artist to give vent to his imaginative powers in full-length and three-quarter-length pictures. It was in these works that Hamilton produced his greatest masterpieces, inspired by the Grand Tour portraits made fashionable by the artist Pompeii Batoni.
We are grateful to William Laffan for confirming the attribution on the basis of photographs.