John Theodore Heins, Sr. (1696-1756)

Portrait of a Gentleman, said to be George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
Signed and dated lr, ‘Heins fec 1751’
Oil on Canvas
49 1/2 x 40 in.

PROVENANCE:
Miss Toovey,
Christies, London, June 3, 1909, lot 21 (5 gns. Colnaghi)
,
Charles James Toovey, Esq. 9 Harley House, Regent Park, London,
Christies, London, Feb 13, 1926, lot 128,
Christies, London, July 30, 1965, lot 282 (32 gns. Buckley),
Christies, East, New York, May 30, 1991, lot 88B
,
Private Collection, Ohio

NOTE:
In August 1750, on a journey back from Germany to London, Handel was seriously injured in a carriage accident between The Hague and Haarlem in the Netherlands. In 1751 his eyesight started to fail in one eye. The cause was unknown and progressed into his other eye. It was not until 1759 that he died.