Gilbert Stuart (1755-1828)

STUART-SharpePortrait of William Sharp (1749-1824)
Oil on canvas
29 x 24 in. (27 x 22 1/2 in. oval sight)

PROVENANCE:
Commissioned by John Boydell (1720-1804),
Williams and Sutch, London, 1931,
Frost and Reed, London, 1945,
Harold Mackintosh, 1st Viscount Mackintosh of Halifax, 1951,
Leggatt Brothers, London,
Christies, London March 16, 1956 (lot 114, bt. Jenkins, 105 gns.),
Alfred P. Jenkins, Richmond, VA,
By Descent.

EXHIBITIONS:
John Boydell Gallery, 1786
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Virginia “Collector’s Choice”, 1965

LITERATURE:
Fielding, M. ‘Paintings by Gilbert Stuart not Mentioned in Mason’s Life of Stuart,’ The Pennsylvania Magazine, 1914 Vol. 38, page 331 (No. 116)
Park, Lawrence, Gilbert Stuart: An Illustrated Descriptive List of His Works. New York, 1926 (IV vols.) page 676, (No. 747), Vol. II
“Art News” May 30, 1931, Vol. 29, page 6
Whitley, E. T. Gilbert Stuart, 1932, page 55, (No. 232)
Mount, Charles Merrill, Gilbert Stuart: A Biography. New York, 1964, page 362.

NOTE:
This portrait is part of  an important commission by John Boydell (1720-1804) the famous engraving publisher for a series of fifteen portraits of the painters and engravers employed by him circa 1783-1786. Sitters included Sir Joshua Reynolds, John Singleton Copley, William Wollett, and Benjamin West. Most of the series are now in the collections of museums in England and the United States.

William Sharp ranks among one of the finest line engravers of the late eighteenth century. He began his career as an engraver of pewter. He studied at the Royal Academy and established himself as a line engraver by 1771. Sharp’s reputation was made with his engraving of Benjamin West’s, Alfred the Great Dividing his Loaf with the Pilgrim. His style of engraving was thoroughly masterful. His style is distinguished for its beautiful tooling to create excellent play of line and shadow. Sharp engraved a broad range of subjects from straight portraiture, to allegorical, and historical scenes for the best artists of his time. Beyond Benjamin West, he worked for Sir Joshua Reynolds and George Romney. A number of Sharp’s engravings where commissions for the brilliant engraving publisher John Boydell (1720-1804).

Through out his life he gravitated to radical views of politics and beliefs. He supported the views of Thomas Paine (1737-1809) and Horne Tooke (1736-1812) in his politics, and was even examined by the Privy Council on the charge of treason. Sharp was a strong believer in the German physician and astrologist Franz Mesmer (1734-1815). And for a long time he maintained Joanna Southcott (1750-1814) the self-described religious prophetess. Sharp died at Chiswick the 25 of July 1824.