Portrait of Hannah Maria Offley, Signed & Dated 1757; Joseph Samuel Webster (? - 1796)

This exquisite and beautiful portrait is notable for its striking shimmering and luminosity of colour. This type of elegant portrait was popular in 18th century Britain and the with skill evident in this example, it is not surprising that the artist trained under one of the most successful and popular artists at the time, Thomas Hudson.

Hannah Maria Offley (born 7th June 1740) was the granddaughter of Stephen Offley (1671-1727) of Norton Hall (see photo), who was Sheriff of Derbyshire in 1716. Upon the death of her brother in 1754 his estates, including Norton Hall, were divided between his sister Urith and Hannah (Urith’s married the industrialist Samuel Shore, who is closely related to Florence Nightingale). Three years later, this portrait was painted, when Hannah was only 17 years old. On 18th June 1767 Hannah married Francis Edmunds (1738-c.1821) of Worsborough Yorkshire.

The modelling of the figure and the treatment of the blue silk with the way in which it reflects light is very accomplished and the colouring and the graceful pose, deriving from artists such as van Dyck, is striking. This is a fine example of British 18th century portraiture and it was chosen to be illustrated in Ellis Waterhouse’s Dictionary of British Art, Vol II, British 18th Century Painters in oils and crayons, Antique Collectors Club, p. 403 (see photo).

Signed and dated by the artist (bottom right): “T. Webster 1757”. There is also a later inscription “Hannah Maria Edmunds / 1757. Alice Offley / Norton Hall”. Presented in a good quality 18th century gilded frame which is probably the original.

The Norton (Norton, Sheffield) estate can be traced back to pre-Conquest days with the estate being mentioned in the last will and testament of the Anglo-Saxon nobleman Wulfric Spott who died c.1002. In 1666 the house and estate were sold to Cornelius Clarke who passed it on to his nephew Robert Offley. The Offleys remained for several generations. The present building is a Grade II listing building dating from 1815. For most of its history it has been a private residence. It was once described as "One of those picturesque old mansions of our country gentry of the high order, of which so few remain. Some portions of it were of very high antiquity."

Joseph Samuel Webster (died 1796) was an English portrait painter who worked in miniatures, oils, pastels, and crayons. He is known to have been active as early as 1750 and as late as about 1790. A very skilled artist he painted to a high very standard. He is thought to have studied under Thomas Hudson. He exhibited miniatures and crayons at the Society of Artists of Great Britain between 1762 and 1780, while living in Covent Garden, and his work also appeared in the Free Society in 1762 and 1763.

Provenance: Anonymous sale, London, Christie's, 15 July 1955, lot 154, to Agnew;

With Thomas Agnew and Sons Ltd., London;

With Simon Dickinson Ltd., London;

Literature: Ellis Waterhouse, Dictionary of British Art, Vol II, British 18th Century Painters in oils and crayons, Antique Collectors Club, reprinted 1991, p. 403

Measurements: Height 145cm, Width 120cm framed (Height 57”, Width 47.25” framed)

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