Sellingantiques.co.uk Logo
 1,815 visitors today 0 antiques approved today
ANTIQUE #SA1076978

Miniature Portrait By John Donaldson

£980    $1,257    €1,178
Painted in the 1780s, this portrait shows a gentleman with a steady gaze, pouting rosebud lips and flushed cheeks wearing a powdered wig neatly tied at the back with ribbon.
 
The portrait is set within a foiled blue glass surround in a gold frame, the reverse with a glazed aperture filled with plaited brown hair. Apart from a couple of short scratches to the glass, the miniature is in fine condition.
 
Writing in ''The Connoisseur'' in 1907, Dr George Williamson described the artist John Donaldson as ‘surely one of the oddest painters that ever lived’. From humble beginnings (his father made gloves) Donaldson drifted from painting china into portraiture winning early recognition and important prizes from the Society of Arts. After only a few years, however, he developed a fascination for chemistry and wasted his money on failed experiments. He also published a volume of poetry that flopped. Indeed, ‘his eccentricities were most extraordinary’ and his politics most radical that he ‘made enemies in all directions’ and ‘gradually sank into deep poverty’.
 
And yet this well-painted portrait is testament to a talent that, if only he hadn’t mixed business with politics but had concentrated his efforts in this direction only, would surely have guaranteed him a steady clientele and given him an excellent living.
 
Framed Size: 77 x 65mm
 
Provenance: Private UK Collection
 
APHA Registration: TPCV9L8G
 
 
All prices include UK postage. International shipping will be at cost.
 
Internal Reference: 9065M
Antique Number: SA1076978
Dateline of this antique is 18th Century
Height is 8cm (3.1inches)
Width is 6.5cm (2.6inches)
Depth is 0cm (0.0inches)
Antique #SA1076978, shown on this page, originates from the 18th century. For historical context, the timeline below highlights the period when it was made:
←C18th
Famous inventions historic timeline graphic to help to give historical context to the date of this antique.
This antique is available for purchase using PayPal by clicking here:
CONTACT DETAILS OF SELLER:
WIGS ON THE GREEN PROFILE PHOTO WHICH LINKS TO DEALER PAGE
Wigs on the Green
Small Portraiture of Character & Historical Interest
Yorkshire
United Kingdom
TELEPHONE SELLER
07962 257915
EMAIL SELLER
EXTRA RESOURCES
HISTORIC TIMELINE OPTIONS