Academic Art

Joseph Badger (c. 1707–1765) was a portrait artist in Boston, Massachusetts, in the 18th century. This amazing painting depicting a young boy with a bird. oil on canvas cm 93 x73...

French school of the 18th century Three pencils (pencil, red chalk, white chalk) on paper 27 x 18 cm (45 x 34 cm with frame) Inscription at bottom “Saint-Aubin de l’Académie de musique” Dated "1785" Augustin d'Herbez known as "Saint-Aubin" was a tenor and member of the Royal Academy of Music...

French School of the 18th century Woman portrait Pastel on paper mounted on canvas Pastel: 46.5 x 63 cm (18.3 x 24.8 inches) Frame: 57 x 71 cm (22.4 x 28 inches) Very good condition ...

Louis Auguste Brun (Swiss 1758-1815), Study of a Hound Dog. Circa 1782. A skilled draughtsman and an outstanding painter of portraits, animals and landscapes, the Swiss artist Louis-...

GEORGE DIONSYSIUS EHRET (1708-1770). Plantae Selectae.... Text by Dr. Christoph Trew. Drawn by Georg Dionsysius Ehret. Engraved by Johannes Jacobus and Johannes Elias Haid. Nuremberg...

An original hand colored engraving by Johannes 'Jan' Kip (1653-1722) of Haughton in the County of Nottinghamshire, one of the seats of Prince John Duke of ...

Oil on canvas Image size: 30 1/4 x 25 inches (77 x 63 cm) Original hand carved gilt frame Provenance Private Estate, England This is a very fine example of Kneller's work in the early 18th century. Here, the emphasis is placed directly on the sitter's alluring femininity, with this being enhanced by the falling hair around her shoulder. This looseness of focus is created with a free fluidity of brushstrokes. He has used a Rembrandt-esque technique of subtle tones in the face, and we can see how Kneller often allowed the bluer ground layer to show through when suggesting the darker flesh tones.The painterly technique seen here is an excellent demonstration of Kneller’s style. The bold handling of the flesh tones is Kneller at his most emphatic, while the sizeable areas of dark grey ground we see are indicative of his method of painting quickly, developed by this stage in his career to cope with the many demands of a large circle of patrons. The same effect is used for the shadows in the face: rather than paint darker colours on top of the pink flesh tones, as most artists would have done, Kneller instead painted in the reverse order, using the ground layer for his dark shadows, and then painting the lighter colours on top. Often he worked with an almost dry brush in strong firm strokes. Here the flesh tones have been rapidly, almost roughly painted, with bold areas of impasto giving way to areas where almost no paint has been applied at all, a trick that allowed Kneller to use the blue-grey ground layer to show darker flesh tones. Godfrey Kneller...

Attributed to Lemuel Abbott 1760-1803 | English Portrait of Horatio Nelson Oil on canvas This previously unknown portrait is an important discovery in British Naval history. In Admiral Lord Nelson's illustrious and well-studied life, there existed a "silent period" spanning 16 years during which no known portraits of Nelson existed. The discovery of this 1790 portrait, rendered just before his reentry into the Navy, is a significant development for Nelson scholars, adding new insight into the leader's life prior to his legendary command as Admiral of the British Navy. Almost certainly painted by Lemuel Abbott, the official portraitist of Admiral Nelson, the rendering depicts the naval titan in casual dress. This is one of the two final depictions of Nelson before he acquired the war-inflicted injuries that marked his later years. In 1790, Britain was at peace, and Lord Nelson found himself residing in Burnham Thorpe with his newlywed wife, Frances. Having served with great distinction in South America and the West Indies, he garnered much local acclaim. Yet, the uncertainty of returning to the sea weighed heavily on his mind. At the age of thirty, he lived the life of a country gentleman managing his estate. Only one other much smaller portrait of Nelson in civilian attire exists, a much smaller rendering from 1800 currently held at the National Portrait Gallery. Compelling and atmospheric, the oil on canvas offers viewers a rare glimpse into the visage of a youthful and resolute Nelson, a man driven by an unwavering desire to forge his reputation in the art of naval warfare. This portrait had long been believed by the Nelson family to portray Edmund Nelson, Horatio Nelson's father. When connoisseur Jeremy Knight acquired this treasure directly from the Nelson family, he postulated that the work actually depicted the famed Admiral and not his father, as it was painted around 1790, and the elder Edmund Nelson would have been 68 years old at that time. Knight then hired the renowned Nelson scholar Martin Downer, the former Sotheby's expert and author of the bestselling books Nelson's Purse and Nelson's Lost Jewel, to confirm his hunch. It has now been confirmed by Martin Downer that this portrait is the missing...

George-Louis Leclerec, Comte de Buffon. HistoireNaturell, Generale et Particuliere avec la Description du Cabiner du Roi. Paris, 1749 Drawings by Jacques E. DeSeve. Engravings with l...

JOHANN WILHELM WEINMANN. Phytanthoza Iconographia…. Published by Raisbonae. Regensburg, 1735-47. Engraved by J.J. Haid, J.E. Ridinger, B. Seuter and G.D. Ehret. Hand-colored mezzotin...

The painting is signed. Description: George Henry Boughton: A Master of Narrative and Natural Beauty George Henry Boughton, a distinguished Anglo-American artist of the 19th centur...

A Nymph and two Satyrs Signed lower right "................fecit" and dated 1778 Grey wash over charcoal and brown ink, on laid paper 27 x 40.5 cm / 10.5 X 16 inches Framed : 51 x...

Circle of George Morland (British, 1762/63-1804) A horse at an encampment With added signature `G Morland’ (lower left) Oil on board 12 x 16 in. (30.5 x 40.7...

Joseph Badger (c. 1707–1765) was a portrait artist in Boston, Massachusetts, in the 18th century. This amazing painting depicting a young boy with a bi...

James Gillray (13 August 1756 – 1 June 1815) was a British caricaturist and printmaker famous for his etched political and social satires, mainly published between 1792 and 1810. Many of his works are held at the National Portrait Gallery in London. Description: Pitt (left) as a bank-clerk, very thin and much caricatured, a pen thrust through his wig, stands behind an L-shaped counter offering a handful of bank-notes to John Bull. In his right hand is a scoop with which he sweeps up notes from the counter. John is a yokel no longer bewildered. He stands stolidly, holding out his left hand for the notes, his right hand in his coat pocket. Fox (right) wears a high cocked hat...

Original stipple engraving with colors titled “Les Revers de la Fortune” (Reversal of Fortune) by the well known French engraver, Louis Marin Bonnet...

This exquisite hand-colored 18th century folio-sized engraving of a papaya plant and moth metamorphosis is plate 64 from Maria Sibylla Merian's publication '...

French School 18th Century In the taste of Joseph VERNET (1714-1789) Seaside Landscape with Roman Ruins and Galleon Oil on canvas Old Frame regilded with leaves Dim canvas : 61 X 73...

This is a hand-colored copperplate engraving entitled "Tulipa viridiscoloris, Fritillaria iuncifolns, Allium Vrsinum" depicting flowering tulip, fritillary and wild garlic plants fro...

Oil on canvas Image size: 30 x 25 inches (76 x 63.5 cm) Original gilt swept frame After the death of Sir Joshua Reynolds in 1792, Hoppner was considered by his contemporaries to be England’s most important portrait painter. Having entered the Royal Academy Schools in 1775, by 1785 Hoppner had risen meteorically from painting the gentry to exhibiting portraits of...

The present collection is a set of 131 prints after Gerard Hoet, the Dutch golden age painter and engraver, depicting various biblical scenes. Hoet was a leading artist in the Classicizing Dutch Academic style, and his work is defined by history paintings, with a particular interest in mythological, classical, historical, and biblical scene, in particular Old testament scenes...

Hand colored copper plate engraving from “The History of Birds. Plate 117 published in 1776.. “Yellow Created Parrot” Dedicated to Daniele Farsetti, a well known art collector Veni...

China Trade aquatint engraving. The plate was engraved by Dadley in London after drawings by Pu Qua of Canton and published in 1799 by W. Miller of Bond Street in London. Sight size 11.5 by 9.5 inches. Under glass. Silver leaf frame with wear consistent with age. Overall framed measurements are 13.5 by 11.5 inches. Not examined out of frame. Borghese label verso. Provenance: Sarasota collector. Inscriptions read as follows: Pu-Qua. Canton. Delin. Dadley, London, Sculpt. Published May 4, 1799, by W. Miller, Old Bond Street, London. John Dadley...

Attributed to Giovanni Battista Cipriani (Italian, 1727 – 1785) A head study of a Roman maiden Sanguine, pencil and pastel on paper 7.1/2 x 5.7/8 in. (19 x 14.8 cm.)

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...

A hand-colored copper plate engraving depicting flowering "Melocactos" (Turk's Cap Cactus or Mother-in-law's Cushion), "Rosa Hiericontea aperta" (Rose of Jericho Unfolded), "Rosa Hie...

This is a hand-colored copper-plate engraving entitled "Gelsiminum Catalonicum, Mairana Latifollia, Euphasiaramosa Pratensis Flore Albo, Euphasia Minus Ramosa Flore Excereruleo Purpurascente", depicting flowering Jasmine, Mountain Laurel...

This is a hand-colored copper plate engraving depicting flowering "Hyacinthus Comosus Spurius" (Hyacinth), "Hyacinthus Anglicus" (Blue Hyacinth), "Palma ...

One Christmas as a 12-year-old boy, John was given a set of oil paints and an easel. Painting revealed a whole new world of colour and texture, and even now, over 40 years later, he ...

This is a hand-colored copper plate engraving depicting Ranunculus (Persian Buttercup) flowers from Basilius Besler's landmark work, Hortus Eystettensis (Garden at Eichstatt), first ...

A hand-colored copper plate engraving depicting "Calendula prolifera; Calendula lutea flore pleno; Calendula lute medioruffa" flowers from Basilius Besler's landmark work, Hortus Eys...

"Cormar Attacking a Spirit on the Waters" is an etching by eighteenth-century Scottish artist Alexander Runciman, signed on the lower edge of the etching, "ARunciman inv. & fecit," i...

Late 18th century mixed media portrait of the head of an old man, perhaps the biblical figure Moses. Italian school . Composed of graphite, colored chalk, watercolor and gouache on ...

George EDWARDS Bird and beetle ('The Gowry Bird') Original engraving, enhanced with watercolor Printed signature in the plate Dated, 1741 28.8 x 23.3 cm Created for Volume I of the...

CARLOS ANTONINI Manuale di Vari Ornamenti Rome, 1781-1790 Engraving. 100 Illustrations. Late eighteenth century Europe was a world in revolution. People in France were losing their heads to Louis XVI and England had a mad king...

GEORGE DIONSYSIUS EHRET (1708-1770). Plantae Selectae.... Text by Dr. Christoph Trew. Drawn by Georg Dionsysius Ehret. Engraved by Johannes Jacobus and Johannes Elias Haid. Nuremberg, 1750-73. Hand-colored engravings. Titles highlighted with goldleaf. 100 plates. 19.5” x 13.5” Unframed. A supplement of 20 plates issued by B.C. Vogel in 1790. "The dominant influence in botanical art during the middle years of the 18th century." "One of the finest records of cultivated flowers..." "His accuracy and general excellence as a true botanical artist have never been equaled." Ehret’s praises have been sung throughout the centuries. While his training was in gardening, Ehret's true talents were in his art. Drawing the specimens from life in the garden's in which he labored won Ehret his employer's praise and his co-workers jealousy. Not only were his botanical portraits highly accurate in every technical detail, they reflected an awe-inspiring love of subject. A restless man, Ehret wandered from Heidelberg through Germany to Vienna and Basle, working his way to Paris and finally settling in London. He was honored by peers and patrons wherever he traveled. Ehret's list of benefactors include the most brilliant and generous members of society in his day. However, it was Christoph Trew, a wealthy physician, lifelong supporter and friend, who published the work for which Ehret is best known, Plantae Selectae. Ehret went to Leiden to meet Carolus Linnaeus and they became the best of friends. It is the Linnaen classification of plants to which Ehret subscribed. In distinguishing of the sexual systems of plants and the cross-sectioning of specimens, based on the teachings of Linnaeus, Ehret's illustrations have become the standard followed by horticulturists throughout the centuries. Ehret is the only foreigner to be elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in England. The illustrations for Plantae Selectae were printed in black and white and painstaking colored by hand at the time of publication. The color is superb! All of the initial words of the titles were gilded; a glorious tribute to an achievement of excellence. Various scholars at the time of publication praised the book highly, singling out the excellent quality of Ehret's watercolor studies, as well as Haid's fidelity to them. In a letter to Linnaeus in the 1750's, Dr. Trew called the book "one of the miracles of our century in the natural sciences." In the 1960's, Claus Nissen wrote "the Plantae Selectae became the most beautiful German plant...

BASIL BESLER (1561 – 1629). Hortus Eystettensis. Konrad Bauer. Altdorf, 1613, 1640, 1713 – 50. Copper plate engravings with modern hand-color 374 plates....

George-Louis Leclerec, Comte de Buffon. HistoireNaturell, Generale et Particuliere avec la Description du Cabiner du Roi. Paris, 1749 Drawings by Jacques E. DeSeve. Engravings with l...

GEORGE DIONSYSIUS EHRET (1708-1770). Plantae Selectae.... Text by Dr. Christoph Trew. Drawn by Georg Dionsysius Ehret. Engraved by Johannes Jacobus and Johannes Elias Haid. Nuremberg, 1750-73. Hand-colored engravings. Titles highlighted with goldleaf. 100 plates. 19.5” x 13.5” Unframed. A supplement of 20 plates issued by B.C. Vogel in 1790. "The dominant influence in botanical art during the middle years of the 18th century." "One of the finest records of cultivated flowers..." "His accuracy and general excellence as a true botanical artist have never been equaled." Ehret’s praises have been sung throughout the centuries. While his training was in gardening, Ehret's true talents were in his art. Drawing the specimens from life in the garden's in which he labored won Ehret his employer's praise and his co-workers jealousy. Not only were his botanical portraits highly accurate in every technical detail, they reflected an awe-inspiring love of subject. A restless man, Ehret wandered from Heidelberg through Germany to Vienna and Basle, working his way to Paris and finally settling in London. He was honored by peers and patrons wherever he traveled. Ehret's list of benefactors include the most brilliant and generous members of society in his day. However, it was Christoph Trew, a wealthy physician, lifelong supporter and friend, who published the work for which Ehret is best known, Plantae Selectae. Ehret went to Leiden to meet Carolus Linnaeus and they became the best of friends. It is the Linnaen classification of plants to which Ehret subscribed. In distinguishing of the sexual systems of plants and the cross-sectioning of specimens, based on the teachings of Linnaeus, Ehret's illustrations have become the standard followed by horticulturists throughout the centuries. Ehret is the only foreigner to be elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in England. The illustrations for Plantae Selectae were printed in black and white and painstaking colored by hand at the time of publication. The color is superb! All of the initial words of the titles were gilded; a glorious tribute to an achievement of excellence. Various scholars at the time of publication praised the book highly, singling out the excellent quality of Ehret's watercolor studies, as well as Haid's fidelity to them. In a letter to Linnaeus in the 1750's, Dr. Trew called the book "one of the miracles of our century in the natural sciences." In the 1960's, Claus Nissen wrote "the Plantae Selectae became the most beautiful German plant...

GEORGE DIONSYSIUS EHRET (1708-1770). Plantae Selectae.... Text by Dr. Christoph Trew. Drawn by Georg Dionsysius Ehret. Engraved by Johannes Jacobus and Johannes Elias Haid. Nuremberg, 1750-73. Hand-colored engravings. Titles highlighted with goldleaf. 100 plates. 19.5” x 13.5” Unframed. A supplement of 20 plates issued by B.C. Vogel in 1790. "The dominant influence in botanical art during the middle years of the 18th century." "One of the finest records of cultivated flowers..." "His accuracy and general excellence as a true botanical artist have never been equaled." Ehret’s praises have been sung throughout the centuries. While his training was in gardening, Ehret's true talents were in his art. Drawing the specimens from life in the garden's in which he labored won Ehret his employer's praise and his co-workers jealousy. Not only were his botanical portraits highly accurate in every technical detail, they reflected an awe-inspiring love of subject. A restless man, Ehret wandered from Heidelberg through Germany to Vienna and Basle, working his way to Paris and finally settling in London. He was honored by peers and patrons wherever he traveled. Ehret's list of benefactors include the most brilliant and generous members of society in his day. However, it was Christoph Trew, a wealthy physician, lifelong supporter and friend, who published the work for which Ehret is best known, Plantae Selectae. Ehret went to Leiden to meet Carolus Linnaeus and they became the best of friends. It is the Linnaen classification of plants to which Ehret subscribed. In distinguishing of the sexual systems of plants and the cross-sectioning of specimens, based on the teachings of Linnaeus, Ehret's illustrations have become the standard followed by horticulturists throughout the centuries. Ehret is the only foreigner to be elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in England. The illustrations for Plantae Selectae were printed in black and white and painstaking colored by hand at the time of publication. The color is superb! All of the initial words of the titles were gilded; a glorious tribute to an achievement of excellence. Various scholars at the time of publication praised the book highly, singling out the excellent quality of Ehret's watercolor studies, as well as Haid's fidelity to them. In a letter to Linnaeus in the 1750's, Dr. Trew called the book "one of the miracles of our century in the natural sciences." In the 1960's, Claus Nissen wrote "the Plantae Selectae became the most beautiful German plant...

George EDWARDS Traveling animals Original engraving enhanced with watercolor Signed in the plate and dated, 1746 28.6 x 23.5 cm From Volume II of the Natural History of Birds, plat...

George-Louis Leclerec, Comte de Buffon. HistoireNaturell, Generale et Particuliere avec la Description du Cabiner du Roi. Paris, 1749 Drawings by Jacques E. DeSeve. Engravings with l...

MARK CATESBY. (1682(83)-1749). The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands. Drawn by Mark Catesby and G.D. Ehret. Etched by MarkCatesby. London, 1731-43. 160 copi...

George-Louis Leclerec, Comte de Buffon. HistoireNaturell, Generale et Particuliere avec la Description du Cabiner du Roi. Paris, 1749 Drawings by Jacques E. DeSeve. Engravings with l...

George-Louis Leclerec, Comte de Buffon. HistoireNaturell, Generale et Particuliere avec la Description du Cabiner du Roi. Paris, 1749 Drawings by Jacques E. DeSeve. Engravings with l...

The present pair of portraits would make an exceptional addition to any collection of early American art not only because they were painted by the notable William Jennys, but also because the sitters are members of notable and influential New England families. In addition, these pendants have impeccable provenance: they have never left ownership of the decedents of the Kimball family and this is the first time they have been available for purchase. David Kimball (1766-1848) and Nancy Stacy Kimball (1774-1844) were members of historic Massachusetts families. David Kimball is a sixth-generation decedent of Richard Kimball (d. 1675) and Ursula Scott (d. 1659), who emigrated from Rattlasden, Suffolk County, England to Watertown MA around 1634. The family then relocated in 1637 to Ipswich, the city with which the family is now most strongly identified, when Richard was appointed to be a wheelwright.[1] Nancy likewise had early New England ancestry, descended from Simon Stacy and Elizabeth Clark, who were married in London in 1620.[2] Nancy Stacy was the second wife of David Kimball, and the two were married in 1799. Given this, the present pendant portraits were likely completed shortly after the marriage. David had two children by his first wife Mary Morse, who died in September of 1798. David and Nancy would have nine additional children between 1801 and 1815.[3] Most notably, the couple were parents of the Boston politician and showman Moses Kimball (1809-1895).[2][3] Moses would found the Boston Museum, an early for-profit museum and theater opened in 1841 that resembled European curiosity cabinets: the museum displayed paintings of Thomas Scully and Charles Peale alongside Chinese artwork, stuffed animals, dwarves and mermaids. Alongside these exhibits, visitors could attend the theater which held performances by gymnasts and contortionists, followed by performances of Shakespeare and Dickens.[4] This museum set the model for the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, which when founded in 1870 held a similarly diverse collection and appealed to the interests of a diverse set of visitors.[5] Moreover, some Greek antiquities from Moses Kimball's museum were eventually given to the MFA and Moses donated approximately $5,000 to the MFA's endowment upon his death.[6][7] William Jennys (1774–1859), also known as J. William Jennys, is an important American primitive portrait...

George-Louis Leclerec, Comte de Buffon. HistoireNaturell, Generale et Particuliere avec la Description du Cabiner du Roi. Paris, 1749 Drawings by Jacques E. DeSeve. Engravings with l...

"The Marriage of Saint Margaret and King Malcolm" is an etching by Scottish artist Alexander Runciman. There is an engraved signature with the artist's monogram followed by "pinxit et fecit," indicating that Runciman both designed the original drawing and likely executed the etching on the metal plate. On the left, a young woman with a halo in fine dress stoops slightly and gathers her skirts as she leans over to accept the ring that the man on the right is reaching to place upon her finger. He is also young, dressed finely, and wearing a crown. Between them, a church official with a pointed hat and a long flowing beard recites the appropriate prayers for the occasion, while onlookers crowd in the background. The tiled floor demonstrates the use of one-point perspective, and the church appears to be in the Gothic style. Art size: 8 3/4" x 7 1/4" Frame size: 26 1/2" x 22 3/8" Alexander Runciman (Edinburgh 15 August 1736 – 4 October 1785 Edinburgh) was a Scottish painter of historical and mythological subjects. He was the elder brother of John Runciman, also a painter. He was born in Edinburgh, and studied at the Foulis Academy, Glasgow, and from 1750 to 1762 he was apprenticed to the landscape painter Robert Norie, later becoming a partner in the Norie family firm. He also worked as a stage painter for the Theatre Royal in Edinburgh. In 1767, he went to Rome, where he spent five years. His brother John accompanied him, but died in Naples in the winter of 1768–69. During Runciman's stay in Italy he became acquainted with other artists such as Henry Fuseli and the sculptor Johan Tobias Sergel...

ROMA (Italy) A. Aquaroni. Engraving. Modern Hand-Color. Rome, Italy 1750. Ever wonder what pre-dated the postcard? By the mid-eighteenth century, travel and exploration had be...

ROMA (Italy) A. Aquaroni. Engraving. Modern Hand-Color. Rome, Italy 1750. Ever wonder what pre-dated the postcard? By the mid-eighteenth century, travel and exploration had be...

ROMA (Italy) A. Aquaroni. Engraving. Modern Hand-Color. Rome, 1750. Ever wonder what pre-dated the postcard? By the mid-eighteenth century, travel and exploration had become a...

ROMA (Italy) A. Aquaroni. Engraving. Modern Hand-Color. Rome, Italy 1750. Ever wonder what pre-dated the postcard? By the mid-eighteenth century, travel and exploration had be...

MARIA SIBYLLA MERIAN (1647-1717) Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensium… (Insects of Surinam) Amsterdam, 1705 Hand-colored engravings. Born in Frankfurt, Germany, then a free i...

MARIA SIBYLLA MERIAN (1647-1717) Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensium… (Insects of Surinam) Amsterdam, 1705 Hand-colored engravings. Born in Frankfurt, Germany, then a free i...

This is a hand-colored copper plate engraving depicting flowering "Iris latifolia violaceo colore maior; Iris latifolia vulgaris coerulea; Iris latifolia maior variegata (Tall Bearded Garden Iris and Flag Iris) 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 hand-colored engraving is printed on thick laid chain-linked paper. There is latin text on the verso. There is pinpoint hole in the periphery on the right and another on the left. There is a very faint vertically oriented crease on the right, related to the process of drying the paper during its production, which is common with original Besler engravings...

Denis Diderot (1713-1784 Jean le Rond d’Alembert (1713-1783) Histoire Naturelle… Recueil de Planches, Sur les Sciences, les Arts Liberaux et les Arts Mechaniques, avec Leur Expl...