Thornton Rippingille

Thornton Rippingille, Portrait Of The Inventor Thomas Dunn, Oil Painting

1857

This early 19th-century half-length portrait attributed to British artist George Clint ARA (1770-1854) depicts a young lady wearing a beautiful brown dress, bonnet decorated with small flowers, gold earrings and coral necklace. Clint was a distinguished painter and mezzotint engraver predominantly known for portraiture and dramatic scenes. Set before an evocative classically-inspired backdrop, she looks out from across the centuries with a composed demeanour. Adorned in the latest fashions, oversized ‘gigot’ sleeves, a delicately-poised bonnet, and a coral necklace for good luck. It’s a charming portrayal by a masterful hand. Born at Drury Lane, in the heart of London’s West End, George Clint was destined to lead an exuberant life amid the spectacle of theatreland. His father, Michael Clint, was a hairdresser during a time of “hair pomatum, whalebone, wire, lace gauze, and feathers” - so young George would have encountered a variety of ‘characters’ during his childhood. But despite these elevated surroundings, he soon discovered the darker side of London when thrust into the world of employment. Apprenticed initially as a fishmonger, he trained under a ferocious master who was known to beat him. The hours were unsocial, the conditions rank, and the work was brutal. He soon quit but subsequently found himself toiling for a corrupt attorney who demanded he undertake unscrupulous acts on his behalf. Seeking a less volatile role, he turned next to house painting, at which he excelled. Commissioned, among other projects, to paint the stones of the arches in the nave of Westminster Abbey. Aside from an incident whereby he almost fell from the second story of a building, all was going well. Following his marriage in 1792 to Sarah Coxhead, a farmer’s daughter, he began work in earnest as a painter of miniatures, determined to forge a career. Robert William Buss’ memoir celebrates Clint’s success as a miniaturist, stating that “great manual excellence was united with that chaste, delicate feeling for female beauty which characterised all Mr. Clint's portraits of ladies.” Until this point, it appears he was predominantly self-taught, presumably constrained by a lack of finances. But from hereon in, his industrious nature coupled with several fortunate encounters, led to him developing an enviable talent for both painting and engraving. During the early 19th-century, the acquaintances one kept could make or break your fortunes and perhaps acutely aware of this, Clint’s ‘society’ was an ever-evolving circle of influential personalities. He was “initiated into the mysteries of engraving” by Edward Bell (act.1794-1819) and produced numerous works after the foremost artists, such as George Stubbs, John Hoppner, and Thomas Lawrence. Following a commission from Lawrence, he struck up a long-term friendship. Admired for his skill as a mezzotint engraver, he sought next to hone his technique in oils and, as with many aspiring portraitists, his first work in this respect was a depiction of his beloved wife. The pair were both delighted with it, yet over time Clint began to doubt himself and sought the validation of a superior hand - that of Sir William Beechey (1753-1839). However, paralysed with insecurity, he couldn’t face the potential criticism, so his wife took it instead - “with a child under one arm and the portrait in the other”. The result was immeasurably more positive than he’d envisaged and he became closely associated with Beechey until his death in 1839. Numerous commissions followed from the landed gentry including Lord Egremont, Lord Spencer, and Lord Essex. But also from the theatrical community who would fill his studio at 83 Gower Street, Bloomsbury. His connections within the world of acting led to notable works such as ‘Malvolio and Sir Toby’ (from William Shakespeare's 'Twelfth Night', Act II, Scene iii)’ and ‘Harriet Smithson as Miss Dorillon, in Wives as They Were, and Maids as They Are’. While his efforts in mezzotint included several contributions to JMW Turner’s Liber Studiorum. As a measure of his success, Clint was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy in 1821 - a position he later relinquished for personal reasons. Today, he’s represented in numerous public collections including at The British Museum, Harvard Art Museums, The Met, V&A, Yale Center for British Art, and the National Portrait Gallery. “The respect in which he was held, not only by his brother artists, but by an immense number of eminent men in various professions, and others of the highest rank, was the result of a rare combination of talent, candour, suavity of manner, and integrity of purpose”. [Obituary, 1854]. Housed in a period gilt frame, which is probably original. Learn more about George Clint ARA in our directory. Labels & Inscriptions: Supplier’s stencil from Rowney & Forster. The National Portrait Gallery holds a database of supplier’s stencils over the decades. The one here is also presented on two other works by George Clint. ‘Falstaff’s Assignation with Mrs Ford...

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Oil on board Image size: 5 1/2 x 4 1/2 inches (14 x 11.5 cm) Original 19th century oval mount and frame Provenance; With Richard Naworth, Blackburn William Edward Frost (September 1810 – 4 June 1877) was an English painter of the Victorian era. Virtually alone among English artists in the middle Victorian period, he devoted his practice to the portrayal of the female nude. Specialising in portraiture from about 1830, Frost painted more than 300 portraits during a 15-year period, and showed some as his first exhibits from 1836. William Edward Frost was born in Wandsworth, then in Surrey, in September 1810. He showed artistic talent from an early age, and was encouraged in this by his father: first by his arranging drawing lessons with a Miss Evatt, a neighbouring amateur, and then, in 1825, by his introducing him to William Etty, who became his mentor. On Etty’s recommendation, he entered Henry Sass’s School for Drawing and Painting at 6 Charlotte Street, in 1826, and spent three years there, while also studying at the British Museum each winter. Frost was educated in the schools of the Royal Academy, beginning in 1829; he established a reputation as a portrait painter before branching into historical and mythological subjects, including the subgenre of fairy painting...

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After John Constable (British, 1776-1837) Portrait of A Man, c. 1800 Oil on canvas 23 3/4 x 19 3/4 in. Framed: 34 x 29 3/4 x 2 3/4 in. Sotheby'...

Sir Francis Dicksee (English, 1853-1928) Untitled (Portrait of a Woman), c. 1900 Oil on canvas; period frame Sight: 13 1/4 in. Framed: 21 1/8 x 21 1/8 x 3 3/8 in. Frank Dicksee was a member of a noted artistic family, his father, brother, and sister Margaret were all well-known painters, and the family lived in the Bloomsbury area of London. He was initially trained by his father, before entering the Royal Academy schools in 1870. Amongst the visiting lecturers who trained him, were the famous senior academicians Leighton [1830-1896] and Millais [1829-1896]. Dicksee was a star student, earning many distinctions and medals. Like many other artists of the day his early career was largely spent in book illustration, as well as some stained glass window design. He started exhibiting at the RA in the mid 1870s, and also exhibited at the Grosvenor Gallery, though his real base was always the Academy. Dicksee made his reputation with Harmony, exhibited at the Academy in 1877, and bought by the Chantry Bequest. Frank Dicksee was elected ARA in 1881, and became a full RA ten years later. Many of his pictures were of dramatic historical and legendary scenes. He also was a noted painter of elegant, highly-finished portraits of fashionable women, which of course helped to bring him material success. Many of these portraits are so beautiful, it is really difficult to disapprove of them - happy was the fashionable lady whose portrait was painted by Dicksee! He also painted landscapes. Dicksee lived in St John's Wood, and remained a bachelor. He was, of course, one of the nineteenth century artists who outlived his time, and was, to his credit, very unhappy with developments in the early twentieth century. Rather surprisingly, Dicksee was elected President of the Royal Academy in 1924, fulfilling the role with panache and tact. Physically he was a tall, good-looking, patrician figure, with a charming easy-going manner. Like his predecessor but one Edward Poynter...