Philip Mercier

Portrait of Thomas Samwell of Upton

1738

Joseph Highmore (London 1692-1780 Canterbury) Portrait of a gentleman, in a Red Coat Officer uniform Signed and dated 1762 lower left Oil on canvas 36 ...

Joseph Highmore (London 1692-1780 Canterbury) Portrait of a young boy holding his pet squirrel Oil on canvas Canvas Size - 30 x 25 in Provenance Sale, Sotheby's New York, Old Master...

John Trotter (fl. 1756-1792 Dublin) Portrait of a gentleman and his dog, seated before a landscape Oil on canvas, Signed lower right 35 x 27 7/8 in
 Provenance 
The Ball Collection, 46 Merrion Square, Dublin, 1903; With Leggatt's, London, July 1972; Private Collection, Hampshire 

Exhibited
 Southampton Art Gallery, Landscapes: An anthology, Southampton, 1979, no. 14 Literature Exhibition Catalogue, Southampton Art Gallery, Landscapes: An anthology, Southampton, 1979, no. 14, pg. 18. John Trotter studied at the Dublin Society Schools circa 1756 where, according to the Hibernian Journal, in 1800, 'his genius was in admiration, and he made drawings, unrivalled probably by any master before or since'. Like many other artists of his generation, he also travelled to Rome, in order to learn from first hand experience the technique of the Old Masters, where he stayed for sixteen years (c. 1759-73). On his return from Italy he set up as a portrait painter in Dublin where he showed his work at a various exhibitions, and continued to paint until his death in 1792. He married twice, firstly to Marianne, daughter of his contemporary Robert Hunter...

Francis Hayman R.A. (1708-1776) Portrait of Peregrine Bertie (1709-1777) The original canvas was signed and dated 1744 (on reverse) Oil on canvas Canvas Size - 30 x 25 in Born in Exeter, Devon, Hayman begun his artistic career as a scene painter in London's Drury Lane theatre (where he also appeared in minor roles) before establishing a studio in St Martin's Lane. A versatile artist influenced by the French Rococo style, he achieved some note during the 1740s through decorative paintings executed for the supper boxes at Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens in London. Hayman was also a successful portraitist and history painter. Combining some of these, he contributed 31 pictures to a 1744 edition of Shakespeare's plays by Sir Thomas Hanmer, and later portrayed many leading contemporary actors in Shakespearean roles, including David Garrick...

Circle of Joshua Reynolds Portrait of a man as an Apostle Oil on canvas 30 x 25 in Provenance Private Collection, London Reynolds was the leading English portraitist of the 18th century. Through study of ancient and Italian Renaissance art...

Benjamin Wilson (1721-1788) Portrait of Henry Pye, standing full-length before a landscape Oil on canvas Canvas Size - 36 x 28 in (91.4 x 71.1 cm) Provenance The sitter and thence by descent until; Sale, Christie's, London, 26 March 1976, lot 61 (bt. Agnews); with Agnews, London; where purchased by the present owner Exhibited On loan to Southampton Art Gallery (loan no. L96) Benjamin Wilson was born at Boar Lane, Mill Hill, Leeds, Yorkshire, the fourteenth and youngest child of Major Wilson, a wealthy clothier, and his wife, Elizabeth, née Yates. He was baptised at St Peter's Church, Leeds, on 20 July 1721 and educated briefly at Leeds grammar school, but after a disagreement between his father and the headmaster he was removed to a smaller school in the neighbourhood. He developed an early interest in painting when his father employed the French artist Jacques Parmentier to decorate his Leeds mansion, and he subsequently received instruction from another French artist, named Longueville, while the latter was engaged in executing historical paintings for Thomas Lister of Gisburn Park in Craven, Lancashire. Subsequently his father's reduced circumstances obliged the young Benjamin to seek a livelihood in London, where a relative provided him with a new suit of clothes and 2 guineas for food. He lived frugally for a year and then gained employment as a clerk in the registry of the prerogative court in Doctors' Commons, where he saved two-thirds of his salary of 3 half-crowns a week. When he had amassed £50 he obtained a more lucrative post as clerk to the registrar of the Charterhouse, which enabled him to resume his artistic studies under the guidance of the master of the Charterhouse, Samuel Berdmore, and the painter Thomas Hudson. He became acquainted with William Hogarth, George Lambert, and other leading painters. In August 1746 he visited Dublin, returning to Ireland in the spring of 1748 to paint some portraits for which he had received commissions. He remained there until 1750, when he acquired Sir Godfrey Kneller's former residence in Great Queen Street, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, to which he later added the adjoining house, formerly the residence of the physician John Radcliffe. Among his first sitters there were Martin Folkes, Lord Orrery, Lord Chesterfield, David Garrick, Samuel Foote, and John Hadley, the physician. His reputation as a portrait painter soon earned him an income of £1500 a year, and about 1756 or 1757 he declined a partnership with Hogarth.

Wilson's most celebrated portraits include those of the physician and antiquary James Parsons (National Portrait Gallery, London), the poet Thomas Gray (Pembroke College, Cambridge), Lord Lyttelton, Lord Mexbrough, Sir Francis Delaval, Lord Scarbrough, Lord Clive, the marquess of Rockingham, and Sir George Savile...

Gerard SOEST (1600 - 1681) Portrait of a Young Boy oil on canvas 35.5 x 30.5 inches inc. frame Gerard Soest (circa 1600 – 11 February 1681), also known as Gerald Soest, was a portra...

The pendant to the present portrait showing John Pitcairn's wife Jean, née Robertson, is in the Huntington Art Gallery, San Marino. Both works are datable to the 1790s. Pitcairn, who...

Painting Ships in a well-protected tube from Nigeria This work is unique, this is not a print or other type of copy. Accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity (Issued by the Gallery)

A rich merchant is an original old master artwork realized in the 18th Century. Mixed colored oil painting on canvas depicting a merchant looking at a coin in his left hand. Provena...

Figure with Cherubim in Wilderness Italian School, 17th century oil painting on wood panel framed 13 x 11 inches condition: overall for its age very good, though the work is most likely a preparatory...

"The Return from School" English School, circa 1820 after the painting by William Redmore Bigg, RA, British 1755-1828 condition: excellent restored condition Provenance: Christie’s, 1988; Private Collection, UK A very fine Georgian painting capturing this wonderful image from the social history of England. We see a school boy returning home for the holidays, his trunk and belongings being handed over, whilst his mother and siblings watch on, on the steps and entrance to their large country home (the gate lodge stands in the distance). It is a superbly painted work and presented in excellent condition. The image is after the original painting by William Redmore Bigg, RA, British 1755-1828. Chiefly known from their many engraved versions, the original oils...