18th Century Art

A rare 18th-century Italian painting. Oil on panel artwork depicting a captivating mythological subject, Mercury delivers the infant Bacchus to the Nymphs of Mount Nysa. According to...

Italian artist (18th-19th century) - Study for a writer. 17 x 25.5 cm, with passe-partout. Pencil drawing on paper, without frame. - Work signed indistinctly lower left (under pas...

Jean-Baptiste Huet, a French Rococo painter and engraver, is known for his pastoral scenes, animal paintings, and depictions of cherubs. Three Cherubs (sometimes referred to as Les T...

'Le Compliment ou La Matinee du Jour de L'an, Dediee aux Peres de Famille' (The Compliment, or New Year's Morning, Dedicated to the Fathers of the Family) and it's pair 'Les Bouquets...

Oil on Canvas. Central European school of the late 1700s. The large painting depicts a rural landscape, with a peasant dwelling on the left, the shepherdess in the left foreground wa...

This is a hand-colored copper plate engraving entitled "Orobanche, Cicuta Maxima, Sparganium (Bur Reed, Water Hemlock, Broomrape) ", depicting a flowering Bur Reed, Water Hemlock, Broomrape plants from Basilius Besler's landmark work, Hortus Eystettensis (Garden at Eichstatt), first published in 1613 in Eichstatt, Germany near Nuremberg and later in 1640 and 1713. This beautiful colorful engraving is printed on thin laid chain-linked paper with wide margins. There us spotting and some discoloration, most prominently in the upper and lower margins. There is irregularity and some loss along the right paper edge. The print is otherwise in excellent condition with striking hand-coloring. The sheet measures 21.5" high and 17.25" wide. Basilius Besler (1561–1629) was an apothecary and botanist. He was curator of the Willibaldsburg Castle garden of Johann Konrad von Gemmingen, prince bishop...

Gentleman with sword in a blacksmith’s forge. Italy, first half of the 17th century Oil on walnut panel Panel size: 22 × 18.5 cm Frame: 28.5 × 25 cm (not original) A forge. Tools n...

Portrait Of Miss Jones of Fonman Castle, Wales, circa 1730 by ENOCH SEEMAN (1689-1744) Large 18th century three quarter length portrait of Miss Jones of Fonmon Castle, Wales, oil on canvas by Enoch Seeman. Excellent quality and condition portrait of a young Miss Jones wearing a gold satin dress...

This exquisite and exceedingly rare early 18th-century Russian Staurotek icon depicts The Crucifixion of Christ with an assemblage of saints, together with a 19th-century copper-cast...

Italian Madonna, early 18th Century, probably Genovese. Beautiful color palette. Not signed.

A captivating 18th-century oil painting portraying a gentleman in prayer before Saint Peter, who appears celestial in the clouds above. In the distance, a quaint church nestles withi...

Two Arcadic Landscapes are a couple of original oil paintings by a follower of the Flemish artist, Jan Frans Van Bloemen (1662-1749). These old master's original paintings represen...

This is a hand-colored copper plate engraving depicting flowering "Hyosciamus albus and Hyosciamus vulgaris" (Henbane) plants from Basilius Besler's landmark work, Hortus Eystettensi...

This superb exhibited British 18th century Old Master Italian landscape oil painting is by noted artist Thomas Barker of Bath. Painted in 1794 and exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1...

An evocative 18th-century oil depicting St Francis Xavier - the 16th-century Catholic missionary and co-founder of the Jesuit order. The artist has depicted the figure with elements ...

Fine Art Print Hahnemuehle, editioned, Giovanni Battista Piranesi print in Verlag von AD Lehmann in Wien, end of the 19. century, SalamonArt certificate will be included.

Benjamin Marshall The Right Honourable Peniston Lamb, 1st Viscount Melbourne with Horse and Dog 1768-1835 Oil on canvas Image size: 33 x 39 1/4 inches Gilt frame Unsigned Provena...

Oil on Canvas. Venetian school of the 18th century. Large landscape of pre-Alpine hills, traversed by a stream that reaches the mill in the right foreground, while numerous figures o...

Shipping in Calm Waters Dutch School, 18th century oil painting on wood panel panel: 10 x 12.75 inches framed: 14 x 17 inches condition: very good, minor evidenc...

Circle of George Stubbs The Lions Den Oil on canvas Canvas Size 11 x 14 1/2 in Framed Size 17 x 21 in George Stubbs, one of the most celebrated animal painters of the 18th century, ...

Mid 18th century hand coloured copper plate engraving of an equestrian subject by Johann Elias Ridinger. Initial signed 'in the plate' bottom right. Presented in a fine gilt wood fra...

Female nude in front of a curtain with clothes is an old master artwork realized by an Italian artist in the early 18th century, Mixed colored oil on canvas. Good condition.

This enchanting 18th-century French fête galante captures the elegance and joy of aristocratic leisure, set amidst a lush garden adorned with flowers. A scene of refined celebration,...

"A sua Eccellenza il Signor Henry Hope Cav. Scozzese Amatore delle Belle Arti from "Vasi, Candelabri, Cippi, Sarcofagi, Tripodi, Lucerne, Ed Ornamenti Antichi", (Vases, candelabra, grave stones, sarcophagi, tripods, lamps, and ancient ornaments) is an etching by Giovanni Battista Piranesi, published in 1778. It depicts stone caryatids...

Artist: Mark Catesby (English, 1638-1749) Title: "Putorius & Pseudo Phalangium (The Pole-Cat) (Skunk)" (Plate/Tab 62) Portfolio: Natural History of Carolina, Florida & the Bahama Islands *Monogram signed by Catesby in the plate (printed signature) lower right Year: 1771-1810 (third edition) Medium: Original Hand-Colored Etching on cream J. Ruse handmade paper Limited edition: Unknown Printer: Unknown Publisher: Benjamin White, London, UK Framing: Recently framed in a black and gold moulding with 100% cotton linen fabric matting Framed size: 21.63" x 25.19" Sheet size: 13.75" x 21.13" Platemark size: 10.25" x 13.75" Condition: UV staining to sheet and mat stain in margins. Some soft handling creases. In otherwise good condition Very rare Notes: Provenance: private collection - Miami, FL. Comes from Catesby's famous two volume portfolio "Natural History of Carolina, Florida & the Bahama Islands" (1771-1810) (third edition), which consists of 220 hand-colored etchings. "J. Ruse 1800" watermark lower right. Mark Catesby's The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands is generally credited as the first published work to provide illustrations and descriptions of North American flora and fauna. From 1722-1726 Catesby, an English naturalist, ranged over South Carolina, Georgia and the Bahamas sketching and collecting specimens of native plants and animals. Skunks are North and South American mammals in the family Mephitidae. While related to polecats and other members of the weasel family, skunks have as their closest Old World relatives the stink badgers. The animals are known for their ability to spray a liquid with a strong, unpleasant scent. Biography: Mark Catesby (24 March 1683 – 23 December 1749) was an English naturalist. Between 1729 and 1747 Catesby published his Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands, the first published account of the flora and fauna of North America. It included 220 plates of birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, insects, mammals and plants. Mark Catesby's The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands is generally credited as the first published work to provide illustrations and descriptions of North American flora and fauna. From 1722-1726 Catesby, an English naturalist, ranged over South Carolina, Georgia and the Bahamas sketching and collecting specimens of native plants and animals. Little is known of Catesby's early life. He was born in eastern England in 1683. Although Catesby does not appear to have attended university or studied for the Bar, he was sufficiently educated to write clear English and Latin. His interest in and knowledge of plants may have derived from his uncle, who maintained a botanical garden. Catesby also appears to have benefited from an acquaintance with John Ray, a leading English naturalist of the 17th century and the co-author of an early classic study of birds...

This stunning British Old Master landscape oil painting, with excellent provenance, is by George Lambert. Lambert was a pioneer of British landscape in art for its own sake. Painted in 1744, the painting is entitled View of a Manor House and Cottages in Elizabeth Einberg's 63rd volume of the Walpole Society 2001 and is described as follows: In the foreground a road emerges from a wood to cross a ford and then leads up the hill to the right, towards a manor house seemingly built into the remains of a medieval or Tudor edifice. The main track, crowded with sheep and rustic figures, passes the massive square gateposts lower down the hill on the left. Further to the left is a thatched cottage with smoke coming out the chimney. In the distance is a wide coastal view. The main buildings, which are in the dead centre of the composition, represent almost certainly an as yet unidentified English view. The colouring and detail in the trees and foliage are superb. This is an excellent Old Master oil painting by one of the all time great British landscape artists with extensive provenance. Signed and dated 1744 lower left on rock in black. Provenance. Elizabeth Einberg, “Catalogue Raisonnè of the works of George Lambert” The Annual Volume of the Walpole Society, 2001 Vol. 63, page 149 no P1744, fig.71. Antonacci Efrati Antichità Rome Gallery. Burden sale, Parke Bernet, New York, 20-21, April 1938 (376 repr.) Robert E. Peters, Sotheby Parke Bernet, New York, March 1975 (41 repr.) Lit. Schnackenburg 1995, pp 83-84, cat. no.14 fig 13. Condition. Oil on canvas, 54 inches by 52 inches and in good condition. Frame. Housed in an ornate gilt frame, 64 inches by 62 inches and in good condition. George Lambert (1700-1765) was an English landscape artist and theatre scene painter. With Richard Wilson he is recognised as a pioneer of British landscape in art, for its own sake. Lambert was born in Kent and studied art under Warner Hassells and John Wootton, soon attracting attention by the quality of his landscape painting. He painted many large and fine landscapes in the style of Gaspar Poussin and Salvator Rosa. Many of his landscapes were finely engraved by François Vivares, James Mason (1710–1785), and others, including a set of views of Plymouth and Mount Edgcumbe (painted conjointly with Samuel Scott), a view of Saltwood Castle in Kent, another of Dover, and a landscape presented to the Foundling Hospital in London. Lambert also obtained a great reputation as a scene-painter, working at first for the Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre, in London, under John Rich. When Rich moved to Covent Garden Theatre, Lambert secured the assistance of Amigoni, and together they produced scenery of far higher quality than any previously executed. Lambert was a man of jovial temperament and shrewd wit, and frequently spent his evenings at work in his painting-loft at Covent Garden Theatre, to which men of note in the fashionable or theatrical world resorted to share his supper of a beef-steak, freshly cooked on the spot. Out of these meetings arose the well-known "Beefsteak Club" which long maintained a high social reputation. Most of Lambert's scene-paintings unfortunately perished when Covent Garden Theatre was destroyed by fire in 1808. Lambert was a friend of William Hogarth and a member of the jovial society that met at 'Old Slaughter's' Tavern in St Martin's Lane. In 1755 he was one of the committee of artists who proposed a royal academy of arts in London. He was a member of the Society of Artists of Great Britain, exhibited with them in 1761 and the three following years, and during the same period contributed to the Academy exhibitions. In 1765 he and other members seceded and formed the Incorporated Society of Artists of Great Britain, of which he was elected the first president. In conjunction with Samuel Scott, Lambert painted a series of Indian views for the old East India House in Leadenhall Street. He also etched two prints after Salvator Rosa. Lambert was associated in 1735 with George Vertue, Hogarth, and John Pine (engraver, 1660–1756) in obtaining a bill from parliament securing artists a copyright on their works. Lambert's portraits were painted by Thomas Hudson, John Vanderbank (engraved in mezzotint by John Faber the younger in 1727, and in line by H. Robinson and others), and Hogarth. Lambert's most famous painting is "A view of Box Hill, Surrey" (1733) which depicts a well-known beauty spot south of London. Hogarth considered Lambert a rival to the famous French landscape painter Claude Lorrain (1600–1682) with respect to his use of soft light to unify the scene in this painting. Though he never visited Italy he was inspired by the classical tradition of landscape painting. Lambert died on 30 November 1765 at his home on the Piazza in Covent Garden. His pupils included John Inigo Richards...

Plan of the Park, Garden and Plantations of Goodwood in Sussex the Seat of his Grace the Duke of Richmond and Lenox &c Copper-line engraving with later hand-colouring by Hendrik Hul...

Carcere ascura Etching, 1743 Signed in the plate bottom left corner From: Prima Parte, 1743 Second edition: 1750-1778 Watermark: R 37-39 A lifetime impression printed during Piranesi’s life, before the plates are moved to Paris by his sons in the 1790’s This image foretells Piranesi's famous set, Carceri (Prisons) which is his next creative effort. Condition: Horizontal crease midway in the sheet associated with the manufacture of the paper. Visible watermark verso Small printer crease in the bottom right below the caption plate. Image size: 14 1/2 x 9 1/2 inches Reference: Robison 3 iii/VI Piranesi In Rome: Prima Parte di Architetture e Prospettive "Although Piranesi studied architecture in Venice, he never was able to find work in the field other than a few jobs involving remodeling in Rome. While Piranesi was struggling to support his architectural endeavors upon his arrival in Rome in 1740, he spent a short period of time in the studio of master painter Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (1696-1770) in addition to his apprenticeship with Giuseppe Vasi. The first production of Piranesi’s early years in Rome and a culmination of his training under Vasi, Tiepolo, and his uncle, was the Prima Parte di Architetture e Prospettive (1743). The Prima Parte was a collection of twelve etchings of imaginary temples, palaces, ruins, and a prison. During this time, Piranesi was still developing the unique style of etching he is known for today, and as such the Prima Parte differs significantly in technique compared to later works. In the Frontispiece of the Prima Parte, Piranesi’s lines are definite and exact with very little flow to them, designed in the form of traditional etching. The detail is immaculate, and yet perspective of the piece is oddly simple and familiar to the viewer. Piranesi’s technique employs miniscule markings and lines, intricately woven together to create a stippling effect. The Prima Parte, described as “rigid” by art historian Jonathan Scott, came to be seen as a stark contrast to his later sketches, which were much lighter and freer. Influenced by the style of Tiepolo, which epitomized the lightness and brightness of the Rococo period, Piranesi adopted some of the more painterly techniques of the masters he apprenticed under. Piranesi made the medium of etching appear as though it was a sketch or a painting, hence a “freer” and more fluid design in his later works. For example, the frontispiece of the Prima Parte read as an etching to Piranesi’s audience, but in his later vedute, the style of etching almost appears to be made of brushstrokes. Moreover, at the same time Piranesi was working on the Prima Parte, he aided the artist Giambattista Nolli. There is a small section of Nolli’s map...

Etching realized in 1771. It belongs to the first edition of the suite "Histoire Naturelle de Buffon". Good conditions with slight foxing.

Deer horns is an artwork realized  by  Buvée l'Américain in 1771.   Etching B./W. print  on ivory paper. Signed on  plate on the lower left margin. The work is glued on cardboard. ...

George Edwards: ""A History of Uncommon Birds"", 1749-1761. A prominent English naturalist and ornithologist, George Edwards (1694 -1773) is best known for his work, ""A Natural His...

Roman Goddess "Dea Africa" Goddess Of The African Continent, 18th Century Italian School Large 18th Century Italian School portrait of the Roman Goddess "Dea Africa" holding a shac...

Martin van Meytens (Stockholm 1695 - Vienna 1770) Portrait of Empress Maria Theresa of Habsburg (Vienna 1717 - 1780) Portrait of Emperor Francis I of Lorraine (1708 - 1765) oil on ...

A charming Georgian silk embroidery panel depicting a young lady and her faithful dog resting by the river. Executed with remarkable skill, th...

A charming Georgian silk embroidery panel depicting a mother and child walking through the countryside, accompanied by their faithful dog. Exe...

Italian painter (18th century) - Chrono. 90.5 x 106 cm. Antique oil painting on canvas, without frame (not signed). Condition report: Lined canvas. Good state of conservation of t...

John Cordrey (c.1765-1825) A light chaise and four signed 'J.Cordrey/1793' lower left Oil on canvas Canvas Size 13 x 17 in Framed Size 15 1/2 x 20 1/2 in John Cordrey (active c. 179...

A pair of old master paintings by August Querfurt (1696-1761). Oil on panel, one signed with initials in the lower left. Two scenes depicting hawking parties from the 18th century. I...

George Smith of Chichester (Chichester 1714-1776) Landscape with figures resting by a river; River landscape with figures outside a thatched cottag...

Late 18th Century pastel portrait on paper of a bearded gentleman. Presented under glass in a fine period gilded carved wood frame. A cha...

This accomplished 18th-century portrait depicts the distinguished gentleman Johann Leonhard Bahnmayer (1677-1748), pictured in formal robes. An inscription verso suggests that he may...

The Artist and his Model French School, 18th century oil on canvas, framed Framed: 14 x 17 inches Board: 11 x 14 inches Provenance: private collection, France Condition: very good co...

This exceedingly charming mid-18th-century English oil painting depicts a girl wearing a red gown with a train over a white petticoat. She’s holding a posy or nosegay. Evidently once commissioned for an English country house, the identity of this young lady remains a mystery. Her gown appears to be inspired by the popular ‘robe à la française...

Etching realized by Giambattista Albrizzi (1698-1777) for Thomas Salmon's Lo Stato presente di tutti i Paesi e Popoli do Mondo. Regno di Spagna. Includes a contemporary wooden frame...

From a wonderful selection of hand-coloured mezzotint engravings from: "Phytanthoza Iconographia", c1739, presented in a hand- made parcel-gilt, ebonised and decalcomania frame...

Portrait of an Eritrean Sibyl who writes the prophecy Circle of Lorenzo Pasinelli (Bologna 1629 - 1700) - Attributable to Giampietro Cavazzoni Zanotti ...

Landscape is a beautiful drawing in pencil and watercolor on paper realized by Jan Peter Verdussen in 1745 ca. In good condition, excpet for some foxing on the right. The artwork r...

Revelry in a Classical Landscape Italian School, early 18th century (circa 1700) oil painting on canvas, laid on board, unframed board: 20 x 36 inches provenan...

This is a rare 18th Century hand-colored copperplate engraving entitled "Der Storch Ciconia" (White Stork) by Johann Leonhard Frisch is plate 19...

Maria Sibylla Merian was born in Germany in 1647 and received early artistic training from her stepfather, an established still life painter. She was fascinated by insects and collec...

Artist: Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon (French, 1707-1788) Title: "Mimufops (Mimusops); Ibricaria (Shingle Oak)" (Octandreie, Monogynie, Plate 300) Portfolio: Histoire Nature...

Le Cerf is an etching realized in 1771 by Claude Jardinier. Titled and Signed on the plate. The artwork Belongs to the suite "Histoire naturelle, générale et particulière avec la d...

Shunga is an original modern artwork realized by Katsukawa Schuncho (1726 – 1793) in the half of the 18th Century. Erotic scene from the series "Koshuko zue juni ko". A courtesan with a customer under a kimono stand...

Mercury, circa 1700s. Bronze with green patina. Height with base: 58 cm (22 7/8 in.)

Rembrandt van Rijn, After by Amand Durand, Dutch (1606 - 1669) - Self Portrait in a Velvet Cap with Plume, Year: Of Original 1638, Medium: Etching on Somerset paper, Image Size: 5 x...

A joyful scene of lighthearted merriment in the palace of Jangahir Mahal Agra Circa 1750. Gouache and ink with gold heightening on light weight cream laid paper, 8 1/4 x 6 inches (2...

This stunning British 18th century Old Master portrait oil painting, with exceptional provenance, is by noted artist George Romney. It was painted in 1788, commissioned by James Evelyn of Felbridge as it is of his younger daughter Anne, aged 20 years old. James was a Doctor of Law and Anne's mother was his second wife, Jane. Felbridge house, Anne's home, was in the village of Godstone in Surrey. This superb oil painting is a seated portrait of Anne, wearing a white dress with a green sash, her forearms exposed and her hands in her lap. Anne is blessed with the most wonderful long auburn curly hair and is visually stunning. Her body is partly turned away from the artist/viewer and she is slightly gazing down at us with confident, clear eyes. Anne is pictured in a landscape with a dramatic sky behind her. Romney's brushwork on her dress, hair and the background is superb. The delicate detailing of her facial features is also stunning. Sometimes Old Master portraits can be a little staid, but this one of Anne with her wild auburn hair and bold look is just magnificent. This is a fantastic example of George Romney's work and of an 18th century British Old Master with exceptional detailed provenance. Name plate states: Anne, younger daughter of James Evelyn of Fellbridge Esq. 1788, aged 20. Romney. Provenance. With Charles Cecil Cope Jenkinson, 3rd Earl of Liverpool (1784-1851) With The Hon. Henry Berkeley Portman (1860-1923), Later 3rd Viscount Portman; with Emma, Viscountess Portman (1862-1929) By 1926; with her daughter Lady Moyra Dawson-Damer (1897-1962) Thence by family descent. Painted in 1788. There are various labels verso. Mentioned in Lord Hawkesbury's Catalogues of Portraits at Compton Place and at Buxted Park, in Sussex, 1903, p.18, no. 3, at Buxted Park, as in the 'Dining Room, South Wall'. Further Bibliography: Gower (R. S.) Romney, London, 1904, p. 175 Kidson (Alex) George Romney, A Complete Catalogue of his Paintings, New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2015, I, p. 205, no. 422 (illus).Ward (Humphrey) and Roberts (William) Romney: A Biographical and Critical Essay, London: T Agnew & Sons, 1904, p. 51 Condition. Oil on canvas. Image size 30 inches by 24 inches and in good condition. Frame. Housed in an ornate gilt frame with name plate, 37 inches by 31 inches and in good condition. George Romney (1734-1802) was born in Dalton-on-Furness, Lancashire, on 15 December 1734, the third of the eleven children of John Romney and Anne Simpson. Leaving school at the age of eleven, he worked for eight years in his father's cabinetmaking workshop before being apprenticed to a local painter, Christopher Steele, with whom he served for two years, from 1755 to 1757, in Kendal, York, and Lancaster. He married a Kendal girl, Mary Abbot...

This lovely 18th century Old Master portrait oil painting is by noted British artist Francis Cotes. It was painted circa 1760 when Cotes was preferring oil as a medium and comparison...

This early 18th-century oil painting, attributed to Italian artist Giuseppe Pesci (d. 1722), depicts a peacock alongside radiant blooms in a vase. Pesci is known predominantly for hi...

Family Group Drawing in Chinese white, sepia and bistre ink, c. 1790 Signed lower left: G. Morland (see photo) The present work appears to be a preliminary study for two Morland paintings where the artist uses portions of this preliminary study in finished exhibition paintings. The strongest association is with the painting entitled The Cottage Door (1790), now in the collection of Royal Holloway College, University of London. Morland uses the same small girl (on left side of this sheet) holding a doll on a chair in the exact same pose. The second painting entitled The Tea Garden (Tate Gallery, London, c. 1790) incorporates similar poses and gestures of the three other figure studies on this sheet. Provenance: Colnaghi, London (Stock # D25924, see photo) Maynard Walker Gallery, New York ( see photo of label) Davis Galleries, New York, their Eagle stamp and stock number (see photo) Ms. Gloria Kaplan (1930-2011) New York City Regarding Maynard Walker: Maynard Walker New York Times obit: "Maynard Walker, an art dealer in New York City for nearly 40 years who was among the first to show the works of leading American regionalist painters, died of pneumonia Tuesday at St. Joseph's Hospital in Carbondale, Pa. He was 89 years old and lived in Lake Ariel, Pa. In 1933, while working at the Ferargil Gallery in New York, Mr. Walker organized an exhibition for the Kansas City Art Institute that for the first time brought together the work of the regionalist painters Grant Wood, Thomas Hart Benton and John Steuart Curry. After Mr. Walker opened his own gallery, at 108 East 57th Street, in 1935, these artists joined him and showed regularly there. The gallery was also among the first to show the work of George Grosz, the German painter and caricaturist, who moved to the United States in 1932. The gallery moved to 117 East 57th Street after the war." Condition: Aging to paper Slight fading to ink Tiny spotting in image All consistent with the age of the drawing Image size: 6 3/8 x 9 1/2 inches Frame size: 14 1/4 x 17 1/4 inches George Morland was born in London on 26 June 1763. He was the son of Henry Robert Morland, and grandson of George Henry Morland, said by Cunningham to have been lineally descended from Sir Samuel Morland, while other biographers go so far as to say that he had only to claim the baronetcy in order to get it. Morland began to draw at the age of three years, and at the age of ten (1773) his name appears as an honorary exhibitor of sketches at the Royal Academy. He continued to exhibit at the Free Society in 1775 and 1776, and at the Society of Artists in 1777, and then again at the Royal Academy in 1778, 1779 and 1780. His talents were carefully cultivated by his father, who was accused of stimulating them unduly with a view to his own profit, shutting the child up in a garret to make drawings from pictures and casts for which he found a ready sale. The boy, on the other hand, is said to have soon found a way to make money for himself by hiding some of his drawings, and lowering them at nightfall out of his window to young accomplices, with whom he used to spend the proceeds in frolic and self-indulgence. It has been also asserted that his father, discovering this trick, tried to conciliate him by indulgence, humouring his whims and encouraging his low tastes. He was set by his father to copy pictures of all kinds, but especially of the Dutch and Flemish masters. Among others he copied Fuseli's Nightmare and Reynolds's Garrick between Tragedy and Comedy. He was also introduced to Sir Joshua Reynolds, and obtained permission to copy his pictures, and all accounts agree that before he was seventeen he had obtained considerable reputation not only with his friends and the dealers, but among artists of repute. A convincing proof of the skill in original composition which he had then attained is the fine engraving. It is said that before his apprenticeship to his father came to an end, in 1784, Romney offered to take him into his own house, with a salary of £300, on condition of his signing articles for three years. But Morland, we are told, had had enough of restraint, and after a rupture with his father he set up on his own account in 1784 or 1785 at the house of a picture dealer, and commenced that life which, in its combination of hard work and hard drinking, is almost without a parallel. Morland soon became the mere slave of the dealer with whom he lived. His boon companions were "ostlers, potboys, horse jockeys, moneylenders, pawnbrokers, punks, and pugilists." In this company the handsome young artist swaggered, dressed in a green coat, with large yellow buttons, leather breeches, and top boots. "He was in the very extreme of foppish puppeyism", says Hassell; "his head, when ornamented according to his own taste, resembled a snowball, after the model of Tippey Bob, of dramatic memory, to which was attached a short, thick tail, not unlike a painter's brush." His youth and strong constitution enabled him to recover rapidly from his excesses, and he not only employed the intervals in painting, but at this time, or shortly afterwards, taught himself to play the violin. He made also an effort, and a successful one, to free himself from his task-master, and escaped to Margate, where he painted miniatures for a while. In 1785 he paid a short visit to France, whither his fame had preceded him, and where he had no lack of commissions. Returning to London, he lodged in a house at Kensal Green, on the road to Harrow, near William Ward, intercourse with whose family seems for a time to have had a steadying influence. It resulted in his marriage with Miss Anne Ward...