Item Ref. 4592

BRITISH SCHOOL, early 19th century

This irresistible pair of portraits shows two very young children with dimpled smiles who surely must be siblings. They are wearing near identical high-waisted muslin dresses with short sleeves. Such dresses were typically worn by boys and girls alike during the early decades of the nineteenth century. The blue-eyed baby is also wearing a beautiful lace cap whilst the older child with brown eyes and chubby cheeks has a coral necklace believed to ward off disease and evil spirits.

Watercolour on ivory set in matching papier-mâché frames with floral hangers.

Size: framed, 4½ x 4" (117 x 100mm)

Price: £700

Item Ref. 4485

JAMES CLEMENTS (active 1818-1831)

This delightful pair of portraits painted in 1822 portray four-year old William Ricketts and his older sister, eight-year old Harriet. Harriet is wearing a high-waisted dress with a matching white bonnet that is fastened with a ribbon bow. She also has a coral necklace worn traditionally by children to ward off any evil spirits. Harriet was the third daughter of Martin and Lydia Ricketts of Droitwich. Sadly she died ten years later in 1832. Younger brother William looks endearing in his simple short-sleeved dress. Sadly little William also died young in 1827.

Watercolour on card, signed and dated on the reverse and further inscribed on the backing paper. The portraits are housed in matching papier-mâché frames with decorative surrounds and brass emblem (rose, thistle and shamrock) hangers. Fine condition.

Framed Size: 5¾ x 47/8" (146 x 126mm)

Price: £425

James Clements worked in and around Worcester. He exhibited at the Royal Academy between 1818 and 1831. He charged from £3-3-0 for a miniature portrait on ivory.

Item Ref. 4310

JOHN SIMPSON (1811-after 1871)

This is a handsome portrait of a young fair-haired boy wearing a Petersham coat belted at the waist with wide sleeves and a deep collar with a frilled edge. He is set against a clouded sky backdrop.

Enamel on porcelain, signed and dated on the reverse "by John Simpson fecit 1844". In that year the artist was still working at the Minton factory. The portrait is presented in a period giltwood frame with a metal surround. Excellent condition.

Framed Size: 6 x 5½" (158 x 143mm)

Price: £675

John Simpson worked at the Minton Porcelain Works for ten years from 1837 before moving to London where he became a successful miniaturist. He exhibited at the Royal Academy between 1847 and 1871.

Item Ref. 4264

BRITISH SCHOOL, circa 1810

Meet the Sudell Family from Blackburn: Mr Henry Sudell in a brown coat, white waistcoat with a standing collar and neatly tied stock; his wife in a beautiful red empire-line dress trimmed with expensive lace, a colourful circlet of roses in her hair; their daughter in a simple white dress with a high waist and short sleeves; and their youngest son, Thomas, looking rather debonair in a blue eton suit and white chemise with a ruff collar.

Watercolour on ivory, set in the original papier-mâché frames with brass hangers. Fine condition.

Framed Size: 5¼ x 4¼" (134 x 103mm)

Price: £2,000

Sadly Henry Sudell's father died before the birth of his son in 1764 but, despite this unlucky start, Henry went on to become a successful merchant and influential figure in his home town of Blackburn. In 1796 he married his cousin, Maria Livesey (b. 1782). They had seven children: Alice, Elizabeth, Henry, John Joseph, Lydia, Maria, & Thomas. Henry Sudell built Woodfold Hall as his family seat living there in splendour. It is said that his arrival into the town in a carriage drawn by four perfectly-matched horses ridden by postilions in livery was treated like a state occasion. But he was a charitable person and at Christmas would arrange for an ox to be roasted in the market place to benefit the poor. He was also a generous employer, slow to reduce wages during hard times and quick to raise them again after recession. Henry's later years were, however, marred by huge losses, both personal and financial, the latter due to the failure of his speculations in the Continental and American markets leading ultimately to his bankruptcy in 1827. He apparently left Blackburn in secret and, although he lived to the ripe old age of 92, he never returned to his home town. He died at Ashley House, near Bath, in 1856.

 

 

Item Ref. 2982

HUGH ROSS, (1800-1873)

An engaging portrait of Elizabeth Dent as a young child with blue eyes and a rosy complexion. She is wearing a traditional white dress with a frilled neckline and sashed waist. The painting is inscribed on the reverse with the sitter's details and signed: Painted by H. Ross / London.

Elizabeth was the only daughter of William Dent who established a prominent merchant shipping company in the Far East at the end of the 18th century. Elizabeth's three brothers took over the running of Dent's in the 1820s when the company was thriving. By 1867, however, the economic recession forced Dent's into liquidation.

Watercolour on ivory, set in the original travelling case with a gilt metal mount. Excellent condition.

Portrait: oval, 1¾ x 1½" (46 x 38mm)
Provenance: By family descent.

Price: £900

Hugh Ross's parents were both miniature painters so it was perhaps not unexpected that he, his older brother William and his sister Magdalena all became successful miniaturists. Hugh Ross exhibited at the Royal Academy 1814-1845 and was awarded several prizes by the Society of Arts.