London - Portrait Paintings

Attributed to Sir Godfrey Kneller (1646 - 1723) A Portrait of Ochius, also called The Passia Ahmed Oil on canvas In a gilded frame Painted circa 1689 following the siege of Belgrad...

17th Century Italian School St Peter Oil on Canvas 55 1/2 x 41 inches This large and tender rendering of Saint Peter was painted by the hand of great Italian painter of the 17th Cen...

"Florentine Expressions: A Portrait Series XXV", oil on canvas, mounted on board, Florentine School (circa 1980s-90s). This gallery has acquired a number of paintings through an inte...

"Florentine Expressions: A Portrait Series XXIV", oil on canvas, mounted on board, Florentine School (circa 1980s-90s). This gallery has acquired a number of paintings through an int...

"Florentine Expressions: A Portrait Series XXIII", oil on canvas, mounted on board, Florentine School (circa 1980s-90s). This gallery has acquired a number of paintings through an in...

"Florentine Expressions: A Portrait Series XXII", oil on canvas, mounted on board, Florentine School (circa 1980s-90s). This gallery has acquired a number of paintings through an int...

A Full-Length Portrait of Nicholas I of Russia in a classical setting. Pietro Labruzzi (1739–1805). 1802.    Signed, located and dated lower left: ‘Pietro Labruzzi Roma Pinx Anno 1802.’ Oil on canvas.   Dimensions:  Unframed: 135.7 x 98.5 cm.; 53½ x 38¾ in. Framed: 151.6 x 115.6 cm.; 59¾ x 45½ in. Description:  Nicholas I (Russian: Nikolay Pavlovich) (1796-1855), Russian Emperor...

Portrait of a Privateer Francis Hayman 1708 - 1776 Oil on canvas Image size: 20 x 14 inches (51 x 36 cm) Contemporary style frame Provenance Charles Fleischmann Esq Here, a small ...

Provenance By descent through the sitter's family to The Collection of R. W. Vivian-Neal of Poundisford Park, Somerset, from whom acquired by With Lane Fine Art, UK, where purchased by the present owners in 1996 Literature 'Poundisford Park, Somerset' in Country Life, 22 December 1934, ill. A.W. and C.M. Vivian-Neal, Poundisford Park, Somerset: A catalogue of pictures and furniture, Taunton 1939, cat. nos. 11 and 13 This is a three-quarter-length portrait of Ralph William Grey in a mole-coloured velvet coat and a long waistcoat of green satin, heavily embroidered in gold. Under his left right hand is a black chapeau bras. He has white doe-skin gauntlet gloves. Son of William and Ann Grey of Backworth: born 19 December 1707. He married Mary the daughter of William Rawstorne of Newall in 1741 and died 5 November 1786. He was educated at Eaton and Trinity College, Oxford. Within a year of his birth Mrs Grey died and, according to the Country Life article 'From that time forward all Mr Grey's faculties were concentrated on the well-being of his son. The possession of an heir gave zest to his efforts to build up the family fortune: he was successful in most of his ventures. Years later his interest in life was centred in the home of his daughter-in-law and grandchildren'. Grey's right hand is depicted in the present portrait resting on Locke's Essays and the Country Life article also records that there are constant references to John Locke...

'Nude at the Window Overlooking Sacré-Coeur', oil on paper mounted on canvas, by Louis Latapie (circa 1930s). Although later in Latapie's career he embraced cubism and abstraction, t...

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...

Portrait of Girolamo Frescobaldi (1583-1643) Attributed to Antiveduto Della Grammatica (1571-1626) Oil on Canvas 1605-1609 Framed in a Nineteenth Century gild and composite frame 44....

Sir Henry Raeburn (1756-1823) James Sinclair, 12th Earl of Caithness (1766-1823) Oil on Canvas 30 X 25 inches Unframed 37 X 32 inches framed Sir Henry Raeburn FRSE RA RSA (4 March 1756 – 8 July 1823) was a Scottish portrait painter and Scotland's first significant portrait painter since the Union to remain based in Scotland. He served as Portrait Painter to King George IV in Scotland. Raeburn was born the son of a manufacturer in Stockbridge, on the Water of Leith: a former village now within the city of Edinburgh. He had an older brother, born in 1744, called William Raeburn. His ancestors were believed to have been soldiers, and may have taken the name "Raeburn" from a hill farm in Annandale, held by Sir Walter Scott's family. Orphaned, he was supported by William and placed in Heriot's Hospital, where he received an education. At the age of fifteen he was apprenticed to the goldsmith James Gilliland of Edinburgh, and various pieces of jewellery, mourning rings and the like, adorned with minute drawings on ivory by his hand, still exist. Soon he took to the production of carefully finished portrait miniatures; meeting with success and patronage, he extended his practice to oil painting, at which he was self-taught. Gilliland watched the progress of his pupil with interest, and introduced him to David Martin, who had been the favourite assistant of Allan Ramsay the Latter, and was now the leading portrait painter in Edinburgh. Raeburn was especially aided by the loan of portraits to copy. Soon he had gained sufficient skill to make him decide to devote himself exclusively to painting. George Chalmers (1776; Dunfermline Town Hall) is his earliest known portrait. In his early twenties, Raeburn was asked to paint the portrait of a young lady he had noticed when he was sketching from nature in the fields. Ann was the daughter of Peter Edgar of Bridgelands, and widow of Count James Leslie of Deanhaugh. Fascinated by the handsome and intellectual young artist, she became his wife within a month, bringing him an ample fortune. The acquisition of wealth did not affect his enthusiasm or his industry, but spurred him on to acquire a thorough knowledge of his craft. It was usual for artists to visit Italy, and Raeburn set off with his wife. In London he was kindly received by Sir Joshua Reynolds, the president of the Royal Academy, who advised him on what to study in Rome, especially recommending the works of Michelangelo, and gave Raeburn letters of introduction for Italy. In Rome he met his fellow Scot Gavin Hamilton, Pompeo Girolamo Batoni and Byers, an antique dealer whose advice proved particularly useful, especially the recommendation that "he should never copy an object from memory, but, from the principal figure to the minutest accessory, have it placed before him." After two years of study in Italy he returned to Edinburgh in 1787, and began a successful career as a portrait painter. In that year he executed a seated portrait of the second Lord President Dundas. Examples of his earlier portraiture include a bust of Mrs Johnstone of Baldovie and a three-quarter-length of Dr James Hutton: works which, if somewhat timid and tentative in handling and not as confident as his later work, nevertheless have delicacy and character. The portraits of John Clerk, Lord Eldin, and of Principal Hill of St Andrews belong to a later period. Raeburn was fortunate in the time in which he practised portraiture. Sir Walter Scott, Hugh Blair, Henry Mackenzie, Lord Woodhouselee, William Robertson, John Home, Robert Fergusson, and Dugald Stewart were resident in Edinburgh, and were all painted by Raeburn. Mature works include his own portrait and that of the Rev. Sir Henry Moncrieff Wellwood, a bust of Dr Wardrop of Torbane Hill, two full-lengths of Adam Rolland of Gask, the remarkable paintings of Lord Newton and Dr Alexander Adam in the National Gallery of Scotland, and that of William Macdonald of St Martin's. Apart from himself, Raeburn painted only two artists, one of whom was Sir Francis Leggatt Chantrey, the most important and famous British sculptor of the first half of the 19th century. It has recently been revealed that Raeburn and Chantrey were close friends and that Raeburn took exceptional care over the execution of his portrait of the sculptor, one of the painter's mature bust-length masterpieces. It was commonly believed that Raeburn was less successful in painting female portraits, but the exquisite full-length of his wife, the smaller likeness of Mrs R. Scott Moncrieff in the National Gallery of Scotland, and that of Mrs Robert Bell, and others, argue against this. Raeburn spent his life in Edinburgh, rarely visiting London, and then only for brief periods, thus preserving his individuality. Although he, personally, may have lost advantages resulting from closer association with the leaders of English art, and from contact with a wider public, Scottish art gained much from his disinclination to leave his native land. He became the acknowledged chief of the school which was growing up in Scotland during the early 19th century, and his example and influence at a critical period were of major importance. So varied were his other interests that sitters used to say of him, "You would never take him for a painter till he seizes the brush and palette." In 1812 he was elected president of the Society of Artists in Edinburgh; and in 1814 associate, and in the following year full member, of the Royal Scottish Academy. On 29 August 1822 he was knighted by George IV and appointed His Majesty's limner for Scotland at the Earl of Hopetoun house. He died in Edinburgh. Raeburn had all the essential qualities of a popular and successful portrait painter. He was able to produce a telling and forcible likeness; his work is distinguished by powerful characterisation, stark realism, dramatic and unusual lighting effects, and swift and broad handling of the most resolute sort. David Wilkie recorded that, while travelling in Spain and studying the works of Diego Velázquez, the brushwork reminded him constantly of the "square touch" of Raeburn. Scottish physician and writer John Brown wrote that Raeburn "never fails in giving a likeness at once vivid, unmistakable and pleasing. He paints the truth, and he paints it with love". Raeburn has been described as a "famously intuitive"portrait painter. He was unusual amongst many of his contemporaries, such as Reynolds, in the extent of his philosophy of painting directly from life; he made no preliminary sketches. This attitude partly explains the often coarse modelling and clashing colour combinations he employed, in contrast to the more refined style of Thomas Gainsborough and Reynolds. However these qualities and those mentioned above anticipate many of the later developments in painting of the 19th century from romanticism to Impressionism. Sir Henry Raeburn died in St Bernard's House (17 St Bernards Crescent), Stockbridge, Edinburgh. He is buried in St. Cuthbert's churchyard against the east wall (the monument erected by Raeburn in advance) but also has a secondary memorial in the Church of St John the Evangelist, Edinburgh. James Sinclair, 12th Earl of Caithness was born at Barrogill Castle (Castle of Mey) on 31 May 1766. He was the son of Sir John Sinclair of Mey, Baronet who he succeeded in the baronetcy in 1774. He succeeded as 12th earl of Caithness in 1789. He was lord-lieutenant of the county of Caithness and lieutenant-colonel of the Ross-shire militia. He married at Thurso Castle on 2 January 1784 Jane, second daughter of Alexander Campbell...

Walter Charles Horsley 1855 – 1921 The Distraction Oil on canvas, signed lower left Image size: 25 x 20 1/2 inches (63.5 x 52 cm) Orientalist ha...

Young boy by Max Band (1901-1974) Oil on canvas 81.2 x 54.4 cm (32 x 21³/₈ inches) Signed lower left Max Band Provenance Private collection, London

"Florentine Expressions: A Portrait Series XIII", oil on canvas, mounted on board, Florentine School (circa 1980s-90s). This gallery has acquired a number of paintings through an int...

Portrait of Dwight D. Eisenhower, oil on board, signed Girardet, French School (circa 1950s). A compelling vintage oil portrait of General Dwight D. Eisenhower, one of the most influ...

Gerald Leslie Brockhurst 1890 – 1978 Portrait of Marguerite Folin Oil on panel, signed lower right Image size: 18 x 14 inches (45.7 x 34.3 cm) Original frame The sitter for this po...

Image dimensions: 92cm x 61cm / 36 inches x 24 inches Framed dimensions: 94.8cm x 64.4cm / 37.2 inches x 25.4 inches This original acrylic painting by David Schock beautifully captu...

This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet Contemporary Art Gallery and online. This captivating piece by Shaun Othen presents a figure of a n...

"Florentine Expressions: A Portrait Series IV", oil on canvas, mounted on board, Florentine School (circa 1980s-90s). This gallery has acquired a number of paintings through an inter...

"Florentine Expressions: A Portrait Series VIII", oil on canvas, mounted on board, Florentine School (circa 1980s-90s). This gallery has acquired a number of paintings through an int...

"Florentine Expressions: A Portrait Series III", oil on canvas, mounted on board, Florentine School (circa 1980s-90s). This gallery has acquired a number of paintings through an inte...

Oil on canvas Canvas size: 23 x 19.25 inches Framed size: 30 x 26 inches Signed lower right

'Boy with Anemones', oil on cardstock paper, by Raymond Debiève (1965). Here the artist paints a young boy having his breakfast with a beautiful bouquet of an...

Oil on panel Panel size: 8 x 6.5 inches Framed size: 12.5 x 10.75 inches Signed top right

Sheila Holland 1932-2002 Self Portrait Oil on canvas, signed lower right Image size: 30 x 22 inches This is a wonderfully dynamic self portrait by the female artist Shelia Holland. ...

George Knapton 1698-1778 Portrait of a Girl Oil on canvas Image size: 20 x 18 inches Original giltwood frame This beautiful half length portrait  of a young woman, turned to left, gazing at the spectator, wearing a pink, white lace-embroidered, dress, in her hair a pink bonnet trimmed with lace to match her dress. The depiction of a young girl epitomises child portraiture of the late eighteenth century, in which painters such as William Beechey, Joshua Reynolds, Thomas Gainsborough had begun to discover and express the true character of children, in contrast to the stiff, miniature-adults of previous generations. The Artist Knapton was born in Lymington, one of four sons of James Knapton. He was apprenticed to Jonathan Richardson from 1715 to 1722, and in 1720 was a founding subscriber to the academy of St. Martin's Lane established by Louis Chéron...

Oil on canvas Canvas size: 22 x 36 inches Framed size: 30.75 x 44.75 inches Signed lower right

John Opie RA (1761-1807, English) c. 1802 Oil on canvas Canvas dimensions 36 x 32 inches Framed dimensions 46.5 x 43.25 inches Original gilded period frame. John Opie was a Corni...

Oil on canvas Image size: 10 x 7 1/2 inches (25.5 x 19 cm) Contemporary gilt frame This painting is a copy of Thomas Lawrence’s 1822 portrait of Armand Emmanuel du Plessis, Duke of ...

Joseph-Auguste Rousselin French 1841 - 1916 Head Study Oil on board, signed with initials and signed verso Image size: 12 x 11 inches This head study provides an unbelievably moving portrait of an androgynous sitter. Employing incredible technique, the artist has achieved the highly finished porcelain skin, thoughtful eyes and pink lips of the sitter with incredible softness. The unfinished quality of the background make the composition of the work particularly satisfying to the modern eye. Loosely sketched dashes and brushy swoops outline the model's head. The mix of finished and more expressive elements reveals the artist's brilliant eye, technique and personality. Artistically, Rousselin does not seem to be influenced by the friendships that he forged with the Impressionists but rather he has remained rather faithful to the academic technique of William Bouguereau, whose studio he also used to frequent. This study is certainly comparable to the work by Bouguereau, specifically his graceful portraits of women. Bouguereau championed the traditional academic style and his methods were taught to him by a pupil of Ingres. Similar academic inspiration is apparent in this work, from the conscious posing of the subject to the evenly laid colours. Indeed, alike the work of Bouguereau this follows the same classical approach to composition, form and subject matter. The Artist Born in Paris in 1841, Rousselin grew up to be a French painter and art collector. From a young age he studied in the workshops of Charles Gleyre and Thomas Couture, here he met the young impressionist generation. His studio peers included Auguste Renoir, Alfred Sisley and Édouard Manet, with whom he forged strong bonds of friendship. It was at his invitation that his two friends Renoir and Sisley exhibited at the Salon of the Society of Friends of the Arts in Pau, a region where Rousselin had family ties. Manet invited him to his family home in Boulogne-sur-Mer where he had him pose in the summer of 1868 for 'Le Déjeuner dans l'Atelie'. Rousselin can be seen in the background of the painting as the man with the cigar, wearing a grey hat...

'Rolling Stones - Three Heads' acrylic on canvas, by Peter Robert Keil (1985). Big, bold with brash brush strokes painted in exuberant colours is the trademark of the artist. Strange...

Dominicus van der Smissen Early 18th Century Portrait of Conrad Friedrich Hurlebusch Oil on canvas Image size: 20½ x 16¼ inches Period gilt frame This is a portrait of Conrad Friedrich Hurlebusch, composer, Kapellmeister and organist, whom Van der Smissen most probably portrayed during his stay in Hamburg, Brunswick or Amsterdam. The identification is based on the reproduction of the portrait which was engraved by Pieter Anthony Wakkerdak (1740- 1774). Van der Smissen has reduced the face of the sitters to an egg-shaped oval in three-quarter view, applying diminution to one half of the figure’s torso, which is farther away from the viewer. This partial side view, with the head turned to look at the viewer over the shoulder, creates spatial depth and brings the figure to life by avoiding the stiffness of a frontal depiction. Because the artist chose to highlight the figure from above, a distinct shadow is cast under the tip of the nose, in the shape of a triangle. This is an often recurring and almost ‘signature’-like feature in Van der Smissen’s oeuvre. Hurlebusch's garments are of a very high quality and serve to reflect the sitter’s wealth, status and elegance. During this period, gentlemen often shaved their heads in order to facilitate the wearing of a wig, which wouldbe worn with a suit. Here Hurlebusch has been depicted in a luxurious turban-like cap lined with lynx fur, a highly fashionable and expensive material at the time. Over his shirt, he wears a velvet fur-lined gown adorned with decorative clasps fashioned from silver braid. The elegant informality of his appearance can be seen in his unbuttoned shirt and the unfastened black ribbon hanging from his button hole, which has been artfully arranged into a fluttering drape by the portraitist. The Sitter Hurlebusch was born in Brunswick, Germany. He received the first instructions in his field from his father Heinrich Lorenz Hurlebusch, who was also a musician. As an organ virtuoso, he toured Europe, visiting Vienna, Munich and Italy. From 1723 to 1725 he was Kapellmeister in Stockholm; later he became Kapellmeister in Bayreuth and Brunswick, and lived in Hamburg from 1727 to 1742, where he had contact with fellow composers Johann Mattheson and Georg Philipp Telemann. He made his living composing, performing and teaching. In 1735 and 1736, he is believed to have visited Johann Sebastian Bach in Leipzig, who promoted Hurlebusch’s compositions as the local seller...

Oil on board, signed and dated '44 lower right Image size: 15 x 19 inches (38 x 48.25 cm) Contemporary style hand made frame This portrait of an unknown man certainly captures the personality of the chosen sitter. With hat tilted to the side, eyebrow lifted and a half smile of the man's face, one gets the impression that he is finding the whole process of having his portrait painted rather amusing. Still in Ireland at this time, the sitter is likely to have been a friend of the artist, from Belfast. In 1944 there was a group exhibition in Belfast held at the textile business of William Ewart & Sons on Bedford Street. Here Smith showed his works alongside the artists Colin Middleton...

This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet Contemporary Art Gallery and online. "Waterloo Bridge" by Michael Alford is a mesmerizing original ...

Oil on oak panel, inscribed top left ‘AETATIS SUAE 32’ Image size: 27 x 35 inches (68.5 x 89 cm) Contemporary style handmade frame This is a portrait of a medical figure from the ea...

Acrylic on canvas, signed and dated (lower right), 91cm x 62cm (112cm x 82cm framed). (Provenance: in the collection of the artist Michael Leonard (British 1933-2023) until his dea...

Oil on canvas Image size: 30 x 25 inches (76 x 63.5 cm) Contemporary hand-carved frame This is a charming 18th century portrait of a young boy, sporting a golden child's two-piece w...

Sir Nathaniel Dance-Holland (1750-1811) was an English portrait painter and one of the founding members of the Royal Academy in 1768. Justly celebrated in his lifetime he won several...

Circle of Mary Beale 1633 - 1699 Portrait of a Gentleman Oil on canvas Image size: 30 x 25 inches Contemporary gilt frame Mary Beale was the daughter of a Suffolk clergyman.She married Charles Beale...

Oil on canvas Image size: 15 x 19 inches (38 x 48.25 cm) Handmade gilt pierced frame This is a beautiful early 19th Century Italian Old Master oil painting with the subject matter ...

Richard Waller 1811 - 1882 Una Oil on canvas, signed lower right and dated 1879 Image size: 23 1/2 x 19 1/2 inches (59.5 x 49.5 cm) Original frame Una is one of the main characters in the first book of Edmund Spenser...

"Florentine Expressions: A Portrait Series XVIII", oil on canvas, mounted on board, Florentine School (circa 1980s-90s). This gallery has acquired a number of paintings through an in...

'Portrait of Boy in a Chair', gouache on art paper, by Raymond Debiève (circa 1960s). Here the artist paints a young boy, very probably his son, Vincent, sitting in a chair posing fo...

"Florentine Expressions: A Portrait Series XVI", acrylic on canvas, mounted on board, Florentine School (circa 1980s-90s). This gallery has acquired a number of paintings through an ...

"Florentine Expressions: A Portrait Series XV", oil on canvas, mounted on board, Florentine School (circa 1980s-90s). This gallery has acquired a number of paintings through an inter...

Signed 'BDandridge/ pinxit' lower left Provenance By descent through the sitter's family to The Collection of R. W. Vivian-Neal of Poundisford Park, Somerset, from whom acquired by With Lane Fine Art, UK, where purchased by the present owners in 1996 Literature 'Poundisford Park, Somerset' in Country Life, 22 December 1934, ill. A.W. and C.M. Vivian-Neal, Poundisford Park, Somerset: A catalogue of pictures and furniture, Taunton 1939, cat. nos. 11 and 13 This is a portrait of Ann Austen, nee Grey, three-quarter-length seated in a landscape with her dog. Painted in a superb white satin dress, she holds horn spectacles and a spectacle case...

"Florentine Expressions: A Portrait Series XII", oil on canvas, mounted on board, Florentine School (circa 1980s-90s). This gallery has acquired a number of paintings through an intermediary of an ageing art professor from the Istituto di Arte di Porta Romana, Florence, Italy. The professor released works of artists whom he mentored over the years. We are unsure who painted the series we acquired as several are just signed, 'Giacomo', or, left completely unsigned, yet many are clearly by the same artist. This one is in good overall condition and has been newly framed with a French-style linen slip. The canvas is textural like one of the vintage maps...

Oil on canvas Canvas size: 29 x 21 inches Framed size: 38.5 x 29.75 inches Signed lower left

'Landscape with Two Bathers', oil on panel, by Guillaume Dulac (circa 1920s). Dulac's oils and drawings manifest an elegant classicism with an immediately identifiable style. It is these qualities which are so attractive both aesthetically and in the context as an investment in fine art. Our gallery holds virtually the entire remaining collection of Guillaume Dulac's sketches and memorabilia with impeccable provenance. In this acquisition of a Dulac oil painting, one finds a depiction of two women, one of them in the nude, seated on the edge of a bathing pool. The other is peacefully seated on a comfortable boulder stone...

Framed Size: 70 x 88 cm Unframed Size: 60 x 77 cm Nicolle was born in Zimbabwe (Rhodesia as it was then) and grew up in Africa and then travelled the world for some years before set...

Lionel Ellis 1903 - 1988 Portrait of a Sleeping Woman Oil on canvas Image size: 14 x 18 inches (35.5 x 45.5cm) Framed Lionel Ellis ARCA (1903-1988) was a...

Circle of Cornelius Johnson Circa 1620’s Portrait of a Officer Oil on canvas Image size: 28 x 24 inches Period style hand made frame Provenance Private European Estate This striking portrait dates to around 1620, as you can see from the images of the sash the detail is very high. The sash is decorated with gold thread and would have cost a small fortune at the time. Sashes were originally developed for a military function (making officers more visible for their men during combat), but soon became a primarily male fashion...

This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet Contemporary Art Gallery and online. "Reverie" by Abi Whitlock invites viewers to embark on a journ...

This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet Contemporary Art Gallery and online. "Unbound" by Abi Whitlock embodies a profound exploration of f...

This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet Contemporary Art Gallery and online. "Origin" by Abi Whitlock invites viewers to explore a moment o...

This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet Contemporary Art Gallery and online. Step into the vibrant world of Borja Guijarro's "Woman with Ju...