Portrait of John Scott, 1st Earl of Eldon (1751-1838), bust-length, in a blue coat and white stock, feigned oval

Details

KARL ANTON HICKEL (Bohemia 1745-1798 Hamburg)
Portrait of John Scott, 1st Earl of Eldon (1751-1838), bust-length, in a blue coat and white stock, feigned oval
Signed and dated 'A.Hickel 1793' (lower right) and with inscription by the 2nd Earl of Eldon 'Sir John Scott, Lord Chancellor Eldon. By A. Hickel./This is a portrait, painted in 1793 by A. Hickel, of the late Rt Honble Sir John Scott, Earl of/Eldon, who died Janry 13th 1838 in the 87th year of his age, having been for nearly twenty-five years/Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain. This picture belonged to him, and becoming under his will at his/decease the property of his daughter Lady Elizabeth Repton was by her given to me./Eldon. 1840.' (on the reverse)
Oil on canvas
24 x 20 in. (60.9 x 50.8 cm.)

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Lot Essay

Born in Bohemia, Hickel spent his formative years painting portraits in southern Germany and Switzerland. In 1786 he travelled to Paris, where he included Marie Antoinette among his many sitters. Hickel was forced to leave France for England following the French Revolution, and in London he established a fine reputation, painting many prominent figures of the time including Charles James Fox and William Pitt.

This painting, along with a number of others in the collection, bears an inscription on the reverse by the 2nd Earl of Eldon. It appears that in 1840, two years after succeeding his grandfather as the 2nd Earl, Lord Eldon carried out a thorough inventory of his pictures, providing charming, informative and historically invaluable information relating to the collection.

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