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John Russell“Hon. George King, 1788” Pastel Portrait, Young Boy with Cricket Ball and Dog1788
1788
$15,000
£11,387.71
€13,128.18
CA$21,219.57
A$22,844.80
CHF 12,233.83
MX$275,271.68
NOK 154,357.08
SEK 141,261.66
DKK 98,099.01
About the Item
“Hon. George King, 1788” by John Russell (1745-1806)
Regarded as Britain’s foremost pastellist, John Russell is well known for his portraits of the wealthy middle class. In particular, his strength lay in his portraits of children, often accompanied by their pets.
This charming example depicts a 5-year-old George King wearing his Eton dress while holding a cricket ball out of reach of his dog. It was drawn in 1788, a pivotal year for Russell, as he was finally admitted as a full member to the Royal Academy. This work was subsequently exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1789; shortly thereafter, Russell would become the crayon painter to George III.
This work exemplifies Russell’s skill in the medium near the height of his career. Russell’s mastery of pastels is evident in the smooth gradation of tones, creating a lifelike texture in the child’s skin, the soft fur of the spaniel, and the luxurious fabric of the clothing. The background features a soft, atmospheric landscape with muted tones, typical of Russell’s ability to combine naturalistic settings with an ethereal quality. The sky transitions into a gentle blend of blue and gray, adding depth and framing the figures with a sense of outdoor play.
The work is pastel on paper laid to canvas and is housed in an antique gilt frame. The wood backing retains faint chalk inscriptions from its 1990 sale at Phillips London. It is unsigned.
Size:
24 inches tall by 18 inches wide (sheet)
30.5 inches tall by 24.5 inches wide by 2.5 inches deep (frame)
Exhibited:
London, Royal Academy, 1789, no. 166
Literature:
Williamson, 1894, p. 150;
Neil Jeffares, Dictionary of Pastellists before 1800, no. J.64.1951, online edition
Provenance:
Edward King, Sussex, UK;
Mrs. Viva King;
Sotheby’s London, 11/30/1978, lot 162;
Phillips London, 4/23/1990, lot 24;
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Fleischmann III
About the artist:
John Russell was born in Guildford, Surrey, to John Russell, a bookseller, artist and five-times mayor of Guildford, and Ann Parvish. Russell was educated at the local grammar school and showed promise as an artist, winning premiums at the Society of Arts in 1759 and 1760.
Following these successes, Russell was apprenticed to the painter Francis Cotes, who became a friend and mentor. The relationship, mostly happy and supportive, was sometimes strained by Russell’s religious evangelism. Russell had experienced a religious ‘conversion’ in September 1764, which he noted prominently in his diary.
Russell moved to London in 1768, where he took portrait commissions and enrolled at the Royal Academy Schools in 1770. In the same year, he married one of his religious ‘converts’, Hannah Faden (1745-1816) and the couple settled in Cavendish Square in a fashionable part of central London. The couple went on to have 12 children and their religious zeal slowly subsided, although Russell still refused to work on Sundays and left early from social occasions such as Royal Academy dinners for fear of encountering blasphemous behaviour.
During the 1770s, Russell started using pastels in his works which proved extremely popular with London society and resulted in a stream of commissions. He exhibited at the first Royal Academy Annual Exhibition in 1769 and continued exhibiting each year until his death in 1806. In 1770, his work Aquarius won the RA Schools’ gold medal. Russell also published a volume about the art of pastel painting in 1772, Elements of Painting with Crayons.
The success of Russell’s works at the Academy led to numerous commissions, with the artist specialising in ‘fancy’ pictures of children with small animals. He also produced hundreds of portraits, exhibiting 21 at the Academy in 1790 alone.
Russell was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy in 1772 and a full Academician in 1788. He became painter to King George III and to the Prince of Wales, an appointment stemming from the positive reception of his portraits of the King’s physician and of Queen Charlotte. This royal patronage combined with his own prolific output earned Russell considerable wealth during his lifetime and he also inherited a small freehold estate in Dorking, Surrey, from a cousin.
Russell was also an astronomer, from his youth taking a keen interest in the study of moons and planets which resulted in the most accurate and detailed picture of the moon to date.
From 1800 Russell suffered a number of injuries and illnesses, including a bout of cholera in 1803 which left him deaf. In spite of this, in the same year he painted his largest pastel picture, Lady Johnstone and her Family and a Greyhound. Russell died of typhus in 1806 while staying in Hull.
Condition: Very good overall antique condition. Well preserved colors. Frame rubbing along edges of the sheet. A few minuscule tears along extreme edges of sheet. Antique frame with scattered losses to gesso and gilding with some associated areas of retouch. It is ready to be displayed and enjoyed!
All photographs are taken in a well-lit environment using studio lights (set to a cooler temperature) to reveal as much detail as possible. Colors can vary slightly depending on the temperature and strength of your lighting.
- Creator:John Russell (1745 - 1806, English)
- Creation Year:1788
- Dimensions:Height: 30.5 in (77.47 cm)Width: 24.5 in (62.23 cm)Depth: 2.5 in (6.35 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement Style:
- Period:1780-1789
- Condition:Very good overall antique condition. Well preserved colors. Frame rubbing along edges of the sheet. A few minuscule tears along extreme edges of sheet. Antique frame with scattered losses to gesso and gilding with some associated areas of retouch.
- Gallery Location:Yardley, PA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU2911217204302
John Russell
Russell was born in Guildford, Surrey in 1745, his father John Snr was four times the mayor of the town and an artist himself. The young John Russell trained under Francis Cotes RA who was one of the pioneers of English pastel painting. Both he and Cotes were admirers of the celebrated Italian pastel artist Rosalba Carriera, her methods significantly influenced his technique of "sweetening". At 19 and much to the protests of his family
teacher he converted to Methodism. In 1767 he set up his studio in London when he met the notorious Dr. William Dodd, whose portrait he painted in 1768. At this time he had met the Countess of Huntingdon along with many other members of the nobility. In 1770 he married Hannah Faden and moved to Cavendish Square London.
he travelled extensively painting around Britain, in 1770 he entered The Royal Academy of Art and won the the gold medal the same year, he also exhibited at The Society of Artists, he exhibited around 330 works at the Academy between 1769 until his death.
In 1788 he painted a number of important commissions that led to him being appointed as pastel painter to King George III, he also painted Queen Charlotte, the Prince of Wales and the Duke of York. By this time Russell had developed an extensive fashionable
influential clientele.
Russell was a deeply religious man and shunned the dinner circuit of London high society, due to concerns of being exposed to blasphemous conversation. He was however on good terms with Sir Joshua Reynolds with whom he dined with at the Academy, the Dilettanti Society and the Literary Club.
Russell's work can be viewed at many of the prominent galleries in the UK and around the world including the National Portrait Gallery London, The Metropolitan Museum of Art New York but the largest collection is held by Guildford House Art Gallery in Guildford. Many of his portraits were engraved by, amongst others, Joseph Collyer, Charles Turner, James Heath, Dean, Bartolozzi and Trotter.
Russell was troubled by ill-health he had contracted cholera and died of typhus in the city of Hull in 1806. John Russell is recognized as one of the greatest pastel painters.
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