Items Similar to Portrait of a Lady in a White Dress - 18th Century Watercolour
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 2
John DownmanPortrait of a Lady in a White Dress - 18th Century Watercolour1784
1784
About the Item
John Downman
1750-1824
Portrait of a Lady in a White Dress
Pencil, stump and watercolour, heightened with white chalk, signed and dated 1784
Image size: 8⅛ x 6½ inches
John Downman was born in Ruabon, North Wales, in 1750. His father, Francis Downman, was an attorney and his mother, Charlotte Goodsend, was the daughter of the private secretary to George I.
After studying in Liverpool for a short period, Downman moved to London in 1769, where he enrolled to study as one of the first thirty-six pupils at the Royal Academy under the tuition of the prominent figure Benjamin West, the president of the institution at that time.
He exhibited his work at the Academy for the first time in 1770 before setting off in 1773 for a two-year tour of Italy in the company of the famous portraitist Joseph Wright of Derby.
The artist returned to England in 1775 and spent some time working as a portraitist in Cambridge and Exeter before moving back to London in 1779. Downman and his contemporaries Hugh Douglas Hamilton and Henry Edridge had much commercial success producing small intimate likenesses, which had an elegant lightness that perfectly captured a growing taste for sentiment in portraiture.
By around 1780, Downman had devised a method of working in chalks and watercolours, which allowed him to capture a likeness within a short sitting, from which he could easily reproduce a number of copies. The small intimate scale of the works made them an appropriate form of keepsakes for family and loved ones and Downman’s works were declared to be ‘universally admired and sought after by the first people of rank and taste’ (Morning Post, 4th of May 1786). He soon gained the patronage of some of the most esteemed figures of the day, including the Duchess of Devonshire and the Royal Family.
Darnley Fine Art holds this attractive half-length portrait of a lady is typical of the artist’s work. The sitter is seated almost in profile in front of a blue curtain, dressed in a ruffle-fronted white dress and headdress. Downman believed that contemporary fashion should be recorded and preserved in portraiture. Unlike many earlier portraitists, he did not depict his sitters in standard or studio costumes, instead the sitters wore their own clothes and thus the portrait served as a form of snapshot of a particular fashion and period within the sitter’s life (see Lloyd, S. and Sloan, K. (ed.), The Intimate Portrait: Drawings Miniatures and Pastels from Ramsay to Lawrence, London, (2008), p.229).
Downman was elected an associate Royal Academician in 1795 and continued to exhibit at the Royal Academy until 1819. In his later life he moved to Wrexham in Devon where he died in 1824. A large number of his works are kept in the British Museum and Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, where an exhibition of his work was held in 1996.
Literature:
- Lloyd, S. and Sloan, K. (ed.), The Intimate Portrait: Drawings Miniatures and Pastels from Ramsay to Lawrence, London, (2008).
- Creator:John Downman (1750 - 1824, British)
- Creation Year:1784
- Dimensions:Height: 8 in (20.32 cm)Width: 6.5 in (16.51 cm)
- More Editions & Sizes:1 of 1Price: $5,396
- Medium:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:London, GB
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU5247707062
About the Seller
5.0
Gold Seller
These expertly vetted sellers are highly rated and consistently exceed customer expectations.
Established in 2007
1stDibs seller since 2014
76 sales on 1stDibs
Typical response time: 7 hours
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: London, United Kingdom
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 3 days of delivery.
Authenticity Guarantee
In the unlikely event there’s an issue with an item’s authenticity, contact us within 1 year for a full refund. DetailsMoney-Back Guarantee
If your item is not as described, is damaged in transit, or does not arrive, contact us within 7 days for a full refund. Details24-Hour Cancellation
You have a 24-hour grace period in which to reconsider your purchase, with no questions asked.Vetted Professional Sellers
Our world-class sellers must adhere to strict standards for service and quality, maintaining the integrity of our listings.Price-Match Guarantee
If you find that a seller listed the same item for a lower price elsewhere, we’ll match it.Trusted Global Delivery
Our best-in-class carrier network provides specialized shipping options worldwide, including custom delivery.More From This Seller
View AllMiss Ruth Bowerie Watercolour Portrait 19th Century American
Located in London, GB
Gertrude Braud
19th Century
Watercolour on paper, initialled and dated 'Sep 29/69'.
Image size: 9 1/2 x 6 3/4 inches (24 x 17 cm)
Category
19th Century Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Watercolor
Sketch from Life, 19th Century English Watercolour, Girl in Profile
Located in London, GB
Watercolour on paper, signed and dated '1870' lower left
Image size: 5 x 6 1/2 inches (13 x 16.5 cm)
Category
1870s Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Watercolor
Portrait of a Man in a Red Turban, Early 19th Century Orientalist Watercolour
By William Henry Hunt
Located in London, GB
Watercolour on paper
Image size: 4 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches (11.5 x 9 cm)
Mounted and framed
This is an arresting image featuring a head and shoulders portrait of a bearded man wearing a ...
Category
Early 19th Century Victorian Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor
Unknown Officer in Trench Cap, 20th Century English Artwork
By V. Ward
Located in London, GB
V Ward
Unknown Officer in Trench Cap
Watercolour and pencil
Signed and dated 1918, lower right
Image size: 12 x 10 inches
Category
20th Century Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor, Pencil
One of the Howling Dawashes in Cairo Orientalist Watercolour Portrait
By Carl Haag
Located in London, GB
Carl Haag
1820 - 1915
One of the Howling Dawashes in Cairo
Watercolour, signed lower right & dated 1880
Image Size: 10 5/8 x 7 3/4 inches (27 x 19.5 cm)
Original Frame
'One of the H...
Category
1880s Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor
Officer in Trench Cap, 20th Century Signed Watercolour
By V. Ward
Located in London, GB
V Ward
Unknown Officer in Trench Cap
Watercolour and pencil
Signed and dated 1918, lower right
Image size: 12 x 10 inches
Category
20th Century Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Pencil, Watercolor
You May Also Like
French Boy in Bloomers
By Raymond Debieve
Located in London, GB
'French Boy in Bloomers', gouache on art paper (circa 1960s-70s), by Raymond Debiève. A young boy emerges from a beach cabana wearing a bloomer bathing costume that was still in use ...
Category
1960s Modern Portrait Paintings
Materials
Paper, Gouache
$1,952 Sale Price
20% Off
The Hypochondriac: French 19th Century Theatre Comedy drawing
By Paul Gavarni (Guillaume Sulpice Chevalier)
Located in Norwich, GB
A magnificent and sensitively treated line drawing in coloured ink, heightened with white. It depicts Argan, the hypochondriac from Molière's play of the same name. Dating from circa...
Category
Mid-19th Century French School Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink, Paper, Gouache
Woodpecker, realist animal portrait, watercolor and gouache
By Dina Brodsky
Located in New York, NY
Dina Brodsky is a contemporary realist miniaturist painter and curator known for her detailed drawings of architecture, trees, and wildlife. Her miniatures carry with them the tradit...
Category
2010s Realist Animal Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor, Gouache, Paper
Study of a Dancer and a Lady by Ludovic-Rodo Pissarro - Watercolour
By Ludovic-Rodo Pissarro
Located in London, GB
*UK BUYERS WILL PAY AN ADDITIONAL 20% VAT ON TOP OF THE ABOVE PRICE
Study of a Dancer and a Lady by Ludovic-Rodo Pissarro (1878-1952)
Watercolour and pencil on paper
21 x 15.7 cm (8...
Category
Early 1900s Fauvist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Watercolor, Pencil
The Rabbis, Judaica portraits
By Chaim Gross
Located in Surfside, FL
the piece without the original frame measures 18X7.5 inchesThis is a wonderful watercolor by one of America's most treasured
artists, Chaim Gross. Throughout his lifetime Gross has gone through tragedy and a real test of faith however, he has the unique ability to focus and direct his expression to the most joyful and beautiful works of art, such as the present lot. For more than sixty years Chaim Gross's art has expressed optimistic, affirming themes. His acrobats, cyclists, and mothers and children convey joyfulness, exuberance, love, and intimacy. This aspect of his work
remained consistent with his Hasidic heritage, which teaches that "only in his
childlike happiness is man nearest to God."
Chaim Gross, born in Wolowa, Austria in 1904, was educated at the Beaux Arts Institute of Design and at the Art Student's League in New York. Chaim Gross's work was greatly influenced by his experiences during a period of international conflict, World War II. He had moved to Kolomyya from Wolowa to get a better education, but the Germans came to occupy, killing, raping, and looting. Gross and his family were chased from one village to
the next. He wrote, "We were sleeping on roofs and in the fields, with the sound of cannon fire...
Category
1960s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Archival Paper, Watercolor
French Watercolor - Village Vendors at the Outdoor Market
By Stephane Magnard
Located in Houston, TX
Vintage watercolor in colorful jewel tones of local villagers selling their wares at an outdoor market by French artist Stephane Magnard (1917-2010), circa 1950.
Original artwork on...
Category
1950s Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor, Paper
$600 Sale Price
20% Off
Recently Viewed
View AllMore Ways To Browse
Used White Dress
Portrait Of A Lady
Drawings Italian 18th Century
Antique Portrait Of A Lady
Portrait White Dress
18th Dress
Miniature Portrait Painting
Portraits Father Daughters
18th Century Large Portrait
Framed Miniature Portraits
Late 18th Century Dress
18th Century Costume
18th Century British Portrait
18th Century Italian Portrait
18th Century Pastel
John Sloan Artist
Lady In Blue Dress
Signed Portrait Miniature