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Lot Essay
‘He was certainly six feet. I should rather guess that he exceeded that height. He was raw boned, with a very small head, and capable of enduring the greatest fatigue’ (Molesworth Phillips, 1826).
This is a slightly smaller version of the picture painted at the Cape of Good Hope between mid-October and November 1776 , now in the National Portrait Gallery, London (NPG 26). It was described as 'An early, reduced, copy ...' by John Ingamells (National Portrait Gallery: Mid-Georgian Portraits 1760-1790, London, 2004) following its appearance at Christie's in 1998. Dr Rüdiger Joppien had then suggested (on the basis of a transparency) that Webber may have had a hand in the present copy: 'I think one has to accept that him being the official artist on the third voyage who witnessed Cook, his skills were much in demand after the voyage. We do not know that he had a big studio, thus all commissions relied on him.' (8 February 1998).
We are grateful to Dr William Hauptman for confirming Webber's hand being present in this reduced copy of the picture in the National Portrait Gallery, London. Hauptman commented, on the basis of a photograph, that '... it does indeed look as though Webber's hand is present in the face. This is not surprising as it is likely that a portrait of Cook from the painter of the voyage, who knew him intimately, would have been in some demand. Making copies of the portrait, from a painter who traveled with Cook, would have been of interest to many. Joppien is right to say that we have little knowledge of his studio, or even whether he had assistants, but I can well imagine that making copies of the portrait would have been a nice source of revenue for Webber after his years at sea. It is logical that he did have a hand in this copy. In other words, there is little reason to believe that Webber's hand is not present in the portrait.' (Dr William Hauptman, private communication, 5 Sept. 2019).
The present picture follows the direction and format of Webber's first portrait of Cook, painted at the Cape of Good Hope in late 1776, on the outward leg of Cook's third voyage. The Cape portrait is one of four recorded portraits of Cook by Webber, and one of two known to have been painted on the voyage. The Cape portrait was the model for the two larger portraits of Cook (Joppien and Smith 3.452 and 3.453) painted by Webber after his return from the voyage. The second voyage portrait is now lost, but was recorded as being painted for and given to Tu or 'Otoo', King of Tahiti, in September 1777, and was requested by Tu after he himself had sat to Webber on the Resolution at Tahiti for a portrait specially requested by Cook.
There are just three surviving portraits of Cook painted from life. The first two (now in the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London) date to late 1775/early 1776: Dance's three-quarter length portrait painted for Banks and Hodges's rediscovered half-length portrait painted for Palliser, both sittings coming after the second voyage. The third is Webber's portrait (NPG 26) painted on the third voyage at the Cape of Good Hope in late 1776, the model for Webber's two large posthumous portraits of Cook painted after the artist's return from the third voyage. If it is accepted that the present portrait can be upgraded from 'an early reduced copy' to an autograph work by Webber, as suggested by Joppien and Hauptman, then it may be that NPG 26 is the picture in Webber's studio sale at Christie's on 14-15 June 1793 (lot 89, Captain Cook's portrait, a small ditto, and a landscapes, unframed') and that this might be the 'small ditto'. It has been suggested up until now that lot 89 'probably comprised NPG 26 and Webber's larger portrait of 1782' (NPG).
This is a slightly smaller version of the picture painted at the Cape of Good Hope between mid-October and November 1776 , now in the National Portrait Gallery, London (NPG 26). It was described as 'An early, reduced, copy ...' by John Ingamells (National Portrait Gallery: Mid-Georgian Portraits 1760-1790, London, 2004) following its appearance at Christie's in 1998. Dr Rüdiger Joppien had then suggested (on the basis of a transparency) that Webber may have had a hand in the present copy: 'I think one has to accept that him being the official artist on the third voyage who witnessed Cook, his skills were much in demand after the voyage. We do not know that he had a big studio, thus all commissions relied on him.' (8 February 1998).
We are grateful to Dr William Hauptman for confirming Webber's hand being present in this reduced copy of the picture in the National Portrait Gallery, London. Hauptman commented, on the basis of a photograph, that '... it does indeed look as though Webber's hand is present in the face. This is not surprising as it is likely that a portrait of Cook from the painter of the voyage, who knew him intimately, would have been in some demand. Making copies of the portrait, from a painter who traveled with Cook, would have been of interest to many. Joppien is right to say that we have little knowledge of his studio, or even whether he had assistants, but I can well imagine that making copies of the portrait would have been a nice source of revenue for Webber after his years at sea. It is logical that he did have a hand in this copy. In other words, there is little reason to believe that Webber's hand is not present in the portrait.' (Dr William Hauptman, private communication, 5 Sept. 2019).
The present picture follows the direction and format of Webber's first portrait of Cook, painted at the Cape of Good Hope in late 1776, on the outward leg of Cook's third voyage. The Cape portrait is one of four recorded portraits of Cook by Webber, and one of two known to have been painted on the voyage. The Cape portrait was the model for the two larger portraits of Cook (Joppien and Smith 3.452 and 3.453) painted by Webber after his return from the voyage. The second voyage portrait is now lost, but was recorded as being painted for and given to Tu or 'Otoo', King of Tahiti, in September 1777, and was requested by Tu after he himself had sat to Webber on the Resolution at Tahiti for a portrait specially requested by Cook.
There are just three surviving portraits of Cook painted from life. The first two (now in the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London) date to late 1775/early 1776: Dance's three-quarter length portrait painted for Banks and Hodges's rediscovered half-length portrait painted for Palliser, both sittings coming after the second voyage. The third is Webber's portrait (NPG 26) painted on the third voyage at the Cape of Good Hope in late 1776, the model for Webber's two large posthumous portraits of Cook painted after the artist's return from the third voyage. If it is accepted that the present portrait can be upgraded from 'an early reduced copy' to an autograph work by Webber, as suggested by Joppien and Hauptman, then it may be that NPG 26 is the picture in Webber's studio sale at Christie's on 14-15 June 1793 (lot 89, Captain Cook's portrait, a small ditto, and a landscapes, unframed') and that this might be the 'small ditto'. It has been suggested up until now that lot 89 'probably comprised NPG 26 and Webber's larger portrait of 1782' (NPG).