Items Similar to A large portrait of Provost Samuel Leckie by William A. Donnelly 1901

Samuel Waugh Portrait Painting of Robert Patterson, Philadelphia, 1876

Midcentury Large Abstract on Canvas by Samuel C. Englander

Portrait of George Washington, by William Matthew Prior, circa 1840s

Surrealist Portrait of Androgynous Figure by William Hugh Ferguson, 1935

William Frederick Foster ''Portrait of Youth'' Oil

Want more images or videos?

Request additional images or videos from the seller

1 of 6

A large portrait of Provost Samuel Leckie by William A. Donnelly 1901

About the Item

A large portrait of Provost Samuel Leckie as he was presented to Queen Victoria in 1897, William A. Donnelly, 1901, gouache and watercolour showing a large bearded man in court dress of a black coat, knee breeches, stockings and elaborately ruffled shirt and cuffs, with silver-buckled shoes, holding a bicorne and a sword, standing before a balustrade with a park landscape receding into the distance behind, within a gild frame, signed, dated 1901 and inscribed ‘Provost Leckie as he was presented to Her Most Gracious Majesty THE QUEEN at Buckingham Palace. London, 1897.’ Provenance: A private European collection Footnote: This interesting and extremely large scale portrait is a new addition to the small corpus of known works by the Victorian artist William A. Donnelly (1847-1905). It depicts the Provost, essentially the ceremonial Mayor, Samuel Leckie (d. 1912). The Leckie family were ironmongers by profession and hailed originally from Montrose. However, Samuel seems to have spent most of his career in and around the Glasgow and Clydebank area. He was Chief Magistrate and served the public in many other capacities for a period of 25 years. He is perhaps best remembered today for his extraordinarily generous donation, in 1907, of a grand 18 foot high cast iron drinking fountain to Dalmuir Park in Clydebank, where it still stands today. Our painting states that it depicts the Provost as he was presented to Her Majesty at Buckingham Palace in 1897. Given the date, this is highly likely to have formed part of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations that year with various civic dignitaries visiting the monarch to pay their respects on behalf of their towns and cities. It is likely that the sitter’s importance in civic society, and the sheer size of the piece, means it was commissioned by his ex-council to hang in their chambers or another civic building. As will be discussed below, William A. Donnelly (1847-1905) came from an artistic family. His grandfather and great grandfather had been in the printers and his father was a pattern designer who ran a successful fashion business in Glasgow. Indeed, Donelly was described by the journalist and art critic, Neil Munro, as a man whose ‘sartorial splendour made him in Glasgow the most conspicuous artist of his time’. This gave Willam junior access to Royal circles, and he received a number of commissions from the Royal family. His fame increased beyond Scotland with his appointment, as Scottish correspondent, to the Illustrated London News. Sadly, Donnelly developed an interest in archaeology which was to prove his undoing. In 1898 he discovered what he thought was an early settlement on the banks of the Clyde, complete with what he believed to be authentic carved artefacts. These were dismissed as fakes by some eminent experts of the time and, although there is no suggestion that Donnelly himself made the fakes, the repercussions led to ill health and, according to his son, ultimately to his early death. Very few paintings by Donnelly survive and those that do are primarily in two public collections; the Glasgow Museums Service and, most importantly in this context, the West Dunbartonshire Council Fine Art Collection. The author Alastair Mitchell owns a large watercolour and one of the artist’s sketchbooks.

Dimensions:
Height: 63.25 in (160.66 cm)Width: 45 in (114.3 cm)Depth: 2.5 in (6.35 cm)
Materials and Techniques:
Paint
Place of Origin:
England
Period:
Early 20th Century
Date of Manufacture:
1901
Condition:
Wear consistent with age and use.
Seller Location:
Lymington, GB
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU973042645342

More From This Seller

View All

An oil on canvas of William Paget, Marquess of Anglesey’s yacht Pearl by Nicolas

Located in Lymington, Hampshire

An oil on canvas of William Paget, Marquess of Anglesey’s yacht Pearl by Nicolas Condy, the reverse with a paper trade label for ‘Akermann & Co, prepared millboards, pastels, canvass...

Category

Antique Mid-19th Century English Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Paint

An oil on canvas of William Paget, Marquess of Anglesey’s yacht Pearl by Nicolas

$28,778

Fine Genre Oil Painting by William Arthur Breakspeare Depicting the Fictional

Located in Lymington, Hampshire

A fine genre oil painting by William Arthur Breakspeare depicting the fictional meeting of Nelson and Lady Emma Hamilton in the Studio of the Painte...

Category

Antique 1880s English Paintings

Materials

Paint

Fine Genre Oil Painting by William Arthur Breakspeare Depicting the Fictional

$34,260

Located in Dallas, TX

William Frederick Foster (1883-1953 American) ''Portrait of Youth'' Oil on Canvas 30''x25'' Image. Signed middle left. Gilt gallery framing 36''x31''. Professionally cleaned and reli...

Category