Fine quality 18th century English portrait of John Penneck of Barley, Devon offrered in its original hand carved and gilded frame. This work is a superlative example Thomas Hudson�s style in the first half of his career. During these years, the majority of his clients hailed from his native Devon and elsewhere in the west country, including fashionable and quickly-expanding Bath. Although Hudson had married the daughter of the successful London-based portrait painter Jonathan Richardson (1667-1745) by 1725 (when their first child was baptised) it was not until Richardson�s retirement in 1740 that he himself made the move to London. This was partly done out of respect for his father-in-law and partly out of a wish to avoid competing with him. Nevertheless, Richardson�s influence can be keenly felt in Hudson�s work in the early part of his career, with both his composition and technique emulating the methods of his father-in-law. This can be seen here most clearly in the sensitive...