Mason Chamberlin (1727-1787)

Portrait of Samuel Richardson (1689-1761)
Oil on Canvas
50 x 40 in.

PROVENANCE:
Christies, London, March 23, 1979 (lot 109),
Thomas Agnews and Sons, Ltd., London,
Mr. Philip Rieff, Philadelphia, PA (former husband of Susan Sontag).

The portrait has been identified as the famous Samuel Richardson (1689-1761) writer and printer. He is best know for his epistolary novels: Pamela (1740), Clarissa (1748), and The History of Sir Charles Grandison (1753). During his life time he printed and published almost 500 different works. While his print shop slowly ran down, at the age of 51 he wrote his first novel and immediately became one of the most popular and admired writers of his time.