Item Ref. 3679

THOMAS WRIGHT (1792-1849)

This is a most charming portrait of a little girl standing in front of a dressing table and admiring herself in the mirror as she tries on some of her mother's finery. She has donned a red flower and a long necklace of blue beads and has put coral-coloured ostrich feathers into her hair. She has also taken a little silhouette pin out of the drawer so perhaps she intends to wear that as well.

The portrait is watercolour on card and is signed bottom right Thos Wright. It is presented in a really magnificent heavy rosewood frame with a deep gilt slip. Both the painting and the frame are in excellent condition.

Framed size: 13¼ x 11½" (335 x 293mm)

S O L D !

Item Ref. 3716

ENGLISH SCHOOL, circa 1840

This is a delightful watercolour portrait of two children: Charles Ruddell-Todd and his sister Mary. Charles, very smart in his white trousers, buttoned waistcoat and blue coat, looks about ten years old. Mary, seated on an upholstered giltwood chair, is wearing her best dress trimmed with blue satin ribbons over white lace drawers. She has delicate satin slippers and fine black lace mittens. Next to her on the chair is her cosseted spaniel whilst Charles's little whippet dances round his feet demanding equal attention.

The portrait is watercolour on card and is unsigned. It is in excellent condition and is presented freshly mounted in a beautifully grained deep rosewood veneer frame. The frame has a small loss of veneer to one corner.

Framed size: 17¾ x 14¼" (423 x 360mm)

Price: £675

Item Ref. 2721

ENGLISH SCHOOL, circa 1790

This is a finely drawn late eighteenth century plumbago portrait of a young lady in a classical décolleté dress with a high drawstring bodice and long narrow sleeves. Her hair is worn in long loose curls under a 'half- handkerchief' hat.

The portrait is set in a beautiful wide frame (believed to be burr walnut) with great patina and a gilt slip. The sides of the frame are also veneered which is always a sign of a quality frame. Fine condition.

Framed size: 11½ x 10¼" (292 x 260mm)

Price: £350

Item Ref. 3694

ENGLISH SCHOOL, circa 1830

This is a rare opportunity to acquire a personal orchestra or, at the very least, a quartet! On offer are four full-length watercolour portraits of musicians including near-identical twins on the violin. Both men are wearing brown tail-coats and grey trousers and sport the same bushy hair style and side-whiskers. Virtually the only difference between them is that one brother appears to be stouter. One is indistinctly named as Mr Watman (Watson?); the portrait of his brother is inscribed 'A View at Wallsend, Northumberland'. Accompanying the violins is a flautist who is wearing a blue tail-coat straining at the buttons is identified as Alderman Wood. And finally there is a serious young pianist perched on a stool. Again his name is difficult to decipher.

The portraits are painted in watercolour over pencil. They are presented in matching bird's eye maple frames with gilt slips. Please note there is minor water-staining on the bottom right hand edge of two portraits (see supersized images for full details).

Framed size: 13¼ x 11¼" (338 x 287mm)

Price: £800

Item Ref. 3672

ENGLISH SCHOOL, 1840s

This is a very striking head and shoulders portrait of a young lady dressed for the evening in a pale-coloured gown edged with delicate ivory lace. She is also wearing a fine gold necklace with pearl drops and her hair is arranged in long ringlets that frame her face.

The portrait is painted in oils on canvas that has been relined. The artist is unknown. It is presented in a particularly handsome bird's eye maple veneer frame with gilt slip.

Provenance: From the estate of Kenneth Rowntree, English artist (1915-1997) and understood to be one of his ancestors.
Framed size: 19½ x 20¼" (494 x 514mm)

Price: £525

Item Ref. 3706

ENGLISH SCHOOL, late 1820s

This is a nicely painted profile portrait of a pretty young lady seated holding a handkerchief in one hand and the ribbon of her cap in the other. She is wearing a black dress with demi-gigot sleeves that are very full to the elbow and then tight to her wrist. Her dress also has a braod white collar that is fastened with blue ribbon. Her Babet cap is high at the back to accommodate her upswept hair.

The portrait is watercolour on card and is presented in a deep giltwood frame with acanthus leaf decorations. Good condition; the frame has been over-painted.

Framed size: 9¾ x 8½" (245 x 213mm)

Price: £220

Item Ref. 3671

MRS NEWTON, circa 1840

This is a poignant and very tender drawing of a young lady named Marg Cornewell (or Comewell). A pencil inscription pasted to the back of the frame reads:

Marg Cornewell, Done from memory by Mrs Newton after Marg's Death.

Pencil and watercolour on card set in a period bird's eye maple frame with gilt slip.

Framed size: 9 x 8¾" (225 x 223mm)

Price: £160

Item Ref. 3421

ENGLISH or IRISH SCHOOL, circa 1780

Presented here is an elegant pair of miniature pastel profiles of a mother and daughter. The mother is identified as Mrs Sydenham Singleton and she is wearing a blue gown. Her powdered hair is swept back with curls on her neck and is topped with a veiled head-dress. Her daughter is identified as Charity Spencer (née Singleton, 1757-1787) and she is wearing a grey dress trimmed with rows of pearls over a white fill-in. Her powdered hair is similarly swept up with a long tress draped over one shoulder and is decorated with more pearls.

The portraits are finely drawn in pastels and are reminiscent in all but size of the work of Irish pastellist Hugh Douglas Hamilton (1740-1808) whose output of society portraits represented a veritable who’s who of the day.

The portraits are set in matching brass-faced frames with verre églomise mounts. Fine condition.

Framed size: 6¾ x 5¾" (175 x 145mm)

Price: £1,200

Item Ref. 3328

FRANÇOIS THÉODORE ROCHARD (1798-1858)

This is a beautiful three-quarter-length portrait of a young lady in a garden landscape wearing a pink silk dress, the bodice and skirt lavishly trimmed with flounces of fine black lace, and a pink rose at her corsage. Her long brown hair is arranged in ringlets adorned with pink roses and green leaves and she is holding a white lace handkerchief.

Watercolour on paper signed and dated in gold F. Rochard 3.49 (i.e. March 1849). It is housed in the original gilded wood frame with composition decoration.

Painting: 177/8 x 101/4" (405 x 260mm)
Framed size: 243/4 x 181/2" (625 x 470mm)

Price: £2,000

Item Ref. 3327

CIRCLE OF RICHARD COSWAY

This is an allegorical painting of two enchanting figures flying through the clouds to represent Dawn. One young lady, in a classical white gown with a blue sash and pink drape, is holding aloft a flaming torch; the other, in a similar gown with blue sash and blue drape, is scattering flowers.

It is probable that the drawing is a portrait of two sisters whose identities have become lost in history. Towards the end of the 18th century classical interpretation dominated female portraiture and it was fashionable for young girls to be depicted as classical muses or goddesses. Richard Cosway, like his great contemporary Reynolds, painted several sitters in this way.

Watercolour on paper set in a modern giltwood frame.

Painting size: 141/2 x 101/8" (367 x 260mm)
Framed size: 221/4 x 173/4" (565 x 450mm)

Price: £1,000

Item Ref. 3201

ADAM BUCK (1759-1833)

A small watercolour portrait of Charles John James Hamilton as a young boy wearing a reddish-brown coat with a fur collar and a white cravat. Signed on the obverse 'Adam Buck 1822', it is housed in the original giltwood frame and inscribed on the reverse with brief details of the sitter.

Charles was born in 1810 and was the only child of Vice-Admiral Sir Charles Hamilton, second baronet and his wife Henrietta Martha (née Drummond). His father had a distinguished naval and political career and between 1818 and 1824 was the governor and commander-in-chief at Newfoundland. As a young man Charles joined the Scots Guards attaining the rank of colonel. He fought in the Crimean War, most notably at the Battle of Alma. He succeeded to the baronetcy upon his father’s death in 1849.

Framed size: 9 x 81/2" (227 x 217mm)

Price: £850

Item Ref. 3600

ENGLISH SCHOOL, circa 1840

This is a watercolour portrait of a young lady dressed for the evening in a short-sleeved black dress trimmed with blue and white lace. The wide shoulders of the dress emphasise her narrow waistline. Her brown hair is arranged in long ringlets around her face.

Unsigned watercolour on card set in a handsome period rosewood frame with a gilt slip.

Framed size: 81/2 x 71/2" (217 x 193mm)

Sale Pending !

Item Ref. 3179

Circle of MICHAEL DAHL, circa 1750

This is a small half-length portrait of an unknown lady wearing a blue-green round-necked dress edged with white lace, a jewel and strands of pearls at her corsage and a gold sash tied at her waist. Her matching cloak is edged with ermine and she has an attractive turban-style hat decorated with pearls.

The portrait is painted on copper using oils. It is set in a period turned wood frame with a textured gilt inner rim.

Framed size: 63/4 x 53/4" (170 x 145mm)

Price: £975