Mrs Richardson

This attractive and finely drawn half-length portrait shows an elegantly poised lady seated with her arms resting on a table. A lightly patterned shawl is loosely draped over her arms and her hair is upswept with flyaway curls on top. A later inscription on the reverse names the lady as Mrs Richardson.

Drawn in plumbago on vellum, the portrait resides in a traditional turned wood frame. Circa 1770-1780.

The son of a London customs officer, John Taylor studied at St Martin’s Lane Academy before moving to Oxford where he forged a career painting portraits of the undergraduates and academics. He exhibited at the Royal Academy and the British Institution between 1780 and 1838. Affectionately known as ‘Old Taylor’, he was in his 99th year when he died.