Portrait of a Boy and His Parrot C.1700; Attributed to Edward Byng.

Name: Portrait of a Boy and His Parrot C.1700; Attributed to Edward Byng.
Brand: Antique
SKU: SA553360
Availability: SoldOut

18th century

Sold by Roy Precious - Antiques & Fine Art

Description

Oil on canvas in the original fine carved and giltwood frame.

This is a charming and good quality portrait of a wealthy boy.The sitter, fashionably draped in silk, holds his hand towards a parrot; these were expensive and exotic birds, thus displaying the wealth of the family. Also, in portraiture and contemporary literature, parrots, which could be trained to speak and perform tricks, were used as examples of the love of learning to which children should aspire.

EDWARD BYNG (c. 1676 – 1753). Thought to be a native of Wiltshire, Byng trained as an artist and became an assistant to Godfrey Kneller about 1693. Another pupil of Kneller, Robert Byng (fl. 1697-1720) was a brother. At the time of Kneller's death in 1723 Byng was his chief assistant and lived with him at a house in Great Queen Street. Kneller's will recorded that Byng had "for many years faithfully served me", gave him a pension of £100 a year and entrusted him with seeing that Kneller's unfinished work was completed, for which he would receive the outstanding payments. Byng also inherited drawings in Kneller's studio, many now in the British Museum. He later lived at Potterne, near Devizes, where he died in 1753 and was buried.

The British Museum holds a large collection of Byng's sketchbooks and drawings. Like John James Backer he was a drapery painter for Kneller.

SIZE: 37.5 x 32.75 inches including the frame.

PROVENANCE: Private Collection, Surrey.

Physical Dimensions

Height

95cm (37.40")

Width

83cm (32.68")

Depth

6cm (2.36")

Declaration

Roy Precious - Antiques & Fine Art has dated this piece to the 1700s.

Reference Numbers

Sellingantiques Reference

SA553360

Dealers Internal Reference

9044

Description

Oil on canvas in the original fine carved and giltwood frame.

This is a charming and good quality portrait of a wealthy boy.

“

The sitter, fashionably draped in silk, holds his hand towards a parrot; these were expensive and exotic birds, thus displaying the wealth of the family.

Roy Precious - Antiques & Fine Art

Also, in portraiture and contemporary literature, parrots, which could be trained to speak and perform tricks, were used as examples of the love of learning to which children should aspire.

fig 1. Portrait of a Boy and his Parrot c.1700; Attributed to Edward Byng. — fig 1. Portrait of a Boy and His Parrot C.1700; Attributed to Edward Byng.

EDWARD BYNG (c. 1676 – 1753). Thought to be a native of Wiltshire, Byng trained as an artist and became an assistant to Godfrey Kneller about 1693. Another pupil of Kneller, Robert Byng (fl. 1697-1720) was a brother. At the time of Kneller's death in 1723 Byng was his chief assistant and lived with him at a house in Great Queen Street. Kneller's will recorded that Byng had "for many years faithfully served me", gave him a pension of £100 a year and entrusted him with seeing that Kneller's unfinished work was completed, for which he would receive the outstanding payments. Byng also inherited drawings in Kneller's studio, many now in the British Museum. He later lived at Potterne, near Devizes, where he died in 1753 and was buried.