Thomas Hudson Paintings

Portrait of a Miss Furneaux Pelham, in a 'Van Dyck' style black gown with white sleeves trimmed with pink ribbon, the bodice adorned with jewels and pearls, resting her arm on a stone pedestal. Bears a Christie's stencil on the reverse 629HT and a Sotheby's auction chalk mark. Oil on canvas housed in a period giltwood frame. Canvas size: 92 x 71cm In frame: 109 x 89cm Provenance: Property of Edward Hockley when sold at Christie's London, 3 May 1946, lot 79 (as by Allan Ramsay), bt. by 'Nicholl' Sotheby's London sale, 'British Paintings 1500-1805', 10 July 1991, lot 22 (as by Thomas Hudson) Private collection, Sussex From 1740 to about 1760 Thomas Hudson was one of the most successful portrait painters in England. Having come to London in the mid-1720's, shortly after the death of Sir Godfrey Kneller in 1723, Hudson gradually rose to a position of prominence, which he held until the 1750's. Hudson painted only portraits, working first under the influence of his teacher Jonathan Richardson, and then turning in the 1740's to the baroque portrait compositions of Sir Anthony Van Dyck and Sir Peter Lely. From this time, with the assistance of drapery painters such as Joseph Van Aken, Hudson produced large numbers of portraits of ladies, gentlemen, judges and clergymen. He married his teacher's daughter Mary...

Walter Edwards Freeman, three-quarter length, standing in a landscape (probably the grounds of Batsford Park) wearing a dark green velvet jacket with gold buttons and a white cravat, an ivory silk waistcoat with his hat tucked under his arm, his hair worn 'en queue'. Oil on canvas. Walter Edwards Freeman (born circa 1725) was the son of Mary (nee Freeman) and Walter Edwards Senior whose family came from Bristol. Mary's father was Richard Freeman (Senior), a landowner with extensive properties in several counties and was appointed Lord Chancellor of Ireland in 1702. After the death of his uncle, Richard Freeman (the Younger) in 1745, he inherited the estate of Batsford Park, Gloucestershire, and he and his family took the surname Freeman. Sadly Walter died two years later and his brother Thomas then inherited the Batsford Estate. When Thomas died without a direct heir in 1808, the estate passed on to his wife's nephew John Mitford and so on through the Mitford family. In 1916 it was inherited by the eccentric David Freeman-Mitford, 2nd Baron Redesdale and father of the famous Mitford sisters. His eldest daughter, Nancy Mitford, based part of her novels 'The Pursuit of Love' and 'Love in a Cold Climate' on their time living at Batsford. Provenance: The property of a Mrs E. Redburn when sold with Sotheby's London, 23 November 1977 With Lane Fine Art, London The property of Eric Dare, Melbourne, Australia when sold with Sotheby's, 13 November 1995. Christie's London, British Pictures, 24 November, 1998, lot 27 From 1740 to about 1760 Thomas Hudson was one of the most successful portrait painters in England. Having come to London in the mid-1720's, shortly after the death of Sir Godfrey Kneller in 1723, Hudson gradually rose to a position of prominence, which he held until the 1750's. Hudson painted only portraits, working first under the influence of his teacher Jonathan Richardson, and then turning in the 1740's to the baroque portrait compositions of Sir Anthony Van Dyck and Sir Peter Lely. From this time, with the assistance of drapery painters such as Joseph Van Aken, Hudson produced large numbers of portraits of ladies, gentlemen, judges and clergymen. He married his teacher's daughter Mary Richardson...

Portrait of an Aristocratic Gentleman attributed to Thomas Hudson (British 1701-1779) oil painting on canvas, framed canvas: 30 x 25 inches framed: 33 x 28 inches provenance: private collection, England Fine 18th century English oil painting...

A rare signed portrait of a young lady by Thomas Hudson (1701-1779) circa 1736. Inscribed lower right 'D.G. 18 years' and signed 'Hudson'. Size 41½” x 31” (105.5 x 79 cms) Oil on c...

Thomas Hudson 1701-1779 The eldest children of Charles Noel, 4th Duke of Beaufort: Head and shoulders portraits of Henry (1744-1803; later 5th Duke) a little boy dressed in blue Van Dyck costume, and his sister Lady Anne Somerset, (1741-1763) in a white dress set with pink ribbons, and a lace ruff. Oil paintings on canvas each 20 x 15 inches in carved and giltwood frames Painted circa 1747/8 Thomas Hudson, a native of Devon, was by far the leading portrait painter in London for two decades in the middle years of the 18th century. He had arrived in London in the 1720’s after the death of Sir Godfrey Kneller, who had dominated London society portraiture for decades. He was taught to paint portraits by the redoubtable Jonathan Richardson, the artist, connoisseur, collector and theoretician of the arts. His portrait practice by 1740 was substantial and highly successful, and numerous paintings by him survive. He continued the tradition of Van Dyck and Lely, and maintained a large studio with numerous talented young artists whom he taught: Henry Pickering, Joseph Wright of Derby, Sir Joshua Reynolds and others. He usually employed Joseph Van Aken as his drapery painter, and the consequence is that many of the works of these artists in these two decades are often difficult to distinguish one from another. His quality, though, is consistent, and his likenesses truthful: they are the sound Georgian Prose and may be contrasted with the feathery rococo poetry of painters of the next generation, most notably Gainsborough. The present paintings illustrate the high fashion of the 1750-60's, when the “Van Dyck” falling lace collar enjoyed a substantial, if rather brief, popularity. Hudson used the style on numerous occasions for both male and female sitters. The present pictures are autograph replicas of two of the group of portraits by Hudson of the 4th Duke's children painted towards the end of the 1740's, and which remain at Badminton House...