John Russell, R.A. (Guildford 1745-1806 Hull)

Study of George White, bust-length, as Saint John the Baptist

Details

John Russell, R.A. (Guildford 1745-1806 Hull)
Study of George White, bust-length, as Saint John the Baptist
signed and dated 'J Russell/ fecit 1772' (lower right)
pastel
23 ½ x 17 ¼ in. (59.6 x 43.8 cm.)

Provenance

Anonymous sale; Sotheby's, London, 25 September 1980, lot 113.

Literature

N. Jeffares, Dictionary of pastellists before 1800, online edition.
M. Postle, 'Patriarchs, prophets and paviours: Reynolds's images of old age', The Burlington Magazine, vol. cxxx, no. 1027, October 1988, pp. 739-40, fig. 9.

Sale room notice

Please note that the title for this work should be Study of George White, bust-length, as Saint Peter, and not as stated.

Lot Essay

George White, the model for the present work, was a paviour by trade. He was discovered by Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-1792) in 1770 and within two years had become one of the most celebrated artists’ models, sitting for Nathaniel Hone (1718-1784), Johann Zoffany (1733-1810) and Russell, for whom he probably sat at the Royal Academy Schools. During the 1770s and 1780s Reynolds painted White more than any other model and his features appear in A Captain of Banditti (1772) and Ugolino and his children in the dungeon (Knole Park, 1773).

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