#britishportrait

Still very much work in progress - but it made me laugh so I hope it makes you laugh as well! Yes, his eyes do follow you around the room and judge you. With disdain.

Over the last 200 years, Samuel Shelley has fallen from the constellation of star miniaturists. But in his own time - what a star he was. A favorite of the Royal Family, Shelley studied at the Royal Academy before exhibiting there from 1774 for the next 30 years, executing remarkable watercolors and oil portraits in addition to his luminous miniatures. An important influence on American artists, Shelley instructed Alexander Robertson and inspired Edward Greene Malbone, who, after visiting the Royal Academy, named Shelley and Cosway the finest miniaturists he had ever seen. ************************* Samuel Shelley, Fanny & William Gayly, 1805. At the Philadelphia Antiques and Art Show, April 25-28. @philaantiquesandartshow *************************** #PortraitMiniature #PortraitMiniatures #MiniaturePortraits #MiniaturePortrait #BritishPortrait #GeorgianMiniature #HistoricArt #elleshushan #WearableArt #JewelrywithaFace #JewellerywithaFace #GeorgianJewelry #GeorgianJewellery #SamuelShelley https://www.instagram.com/p/BuuYkfAnJzt/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=o1eea4w3qjkf

Portrait of Anne, Countess of Chesterfield by Gainsborough @gettymuseum #thomasgainsborough #britishportrait (at Getty Museum) https://www.instagram.com/p/Br9Hj50lNyO/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1256in1ly0kri

Self-Portrait of Mary Palmer, 18th century artist. She was also Sir Joshua Reynolds' niece and heir - lineage with considerable baggage for an aspiring portrait painter. Diarist Fanny Burney wrote of Mary and her younger sister, 'The Miss Palmers added to the grace of his [Reynolds] table by the pleasingness of their manners and the beauty of their persons.' Marrying for the first time in 1792 (the year of Reynolds' death), at the age of 42, Mary caught 66 year old Murrough O'Brien, an Irish Peer with a mouthful of titles - 10th Baron Inchiquin, 5th Earl of Inchiquin, 1st Marquess of Thomond, KP, PC. Those titles were expensive for Mary. Described as a 'six bottle man,' O'Brien was also a gambler. With the sizable inheritance from her uncle, Mary paid off O'Brien's debts and raised his daughter. Apparently her only thanks was the titles of the Countess of Inchiquin and the Marchioness of Thomond. A fall from his horse in Grosvenor Square in 1808 cost O'Brien his life. Mary, whose career as an artist ended when Reynolds died, was left with little besides her titles. In the collection of the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. @Fitzmuseum_uk #FitzwilliamMuseum #PortraitMiniature #PortraitMiniatures #MiniaturePortrait #elleshushan #HistoricArt #WearableArt #JewelryWithaFace #GeorgianJewellery #GeorgianJewelry #SirJoshuaReynolds #SelfPortrait #BritishPortrait #BritishArt #MiniatureMonday

Mourning Miniatures - often so subtle that only the joy of life is immediately perceptible. But look more closely. The symbol of the soul, the butterfly, escaping the little boy’s grasp. His sister - seemingly sitting alone. A poignant final portrait by Francis Hargreaves.