Mid-Georgian Portraits

This catalogue includes such famous figures as David Garrick and Dr Samuel Johnson, Sarah Siddons and Emma Hamilton, and the work of such celebrated artists as Gainsborough, Reynolds and Romney. It has been compiled by one of the leading authorities on 18th-century English portraiture, John Ingamells. A brief biographical note accompanies each sitter, followed by a detailed examination of each of the Gallerys portraits and an account of authentic portraits in other collections. Works from the Gallery collection have been re-examined in the studio, sometimes for the first time in many years, with interesting results. X-rays of the Reynolds portrait of Sir William Chambers, for example, reveal considerable changes of mind on the part of the young artist, while William Hoares portrait of Lord Egremont, usually on loan to the House of Commons, has proved to be by Hoare himself, rather than his studio.