A young drummer boy

Mercier, born in Berlin, probably came to England in 1716. His most important English patrons were Hanoverian courtiers and he became Principal Portrait Painter and Library Keeper to Frederick, Prince of Wales. He settled in York in 1739-51 and painted many of the Yorkshire gentry but returned to London where he died in 1760. Childhood pursuits and musical subjects were favourite themes with Mercier.