Studio of Allan Ramsay 1713-1784

both full length, standing, wearing robes of state

Anon. sale, Couturier-Nicolay, Paris, 31st March 1993, lot 31, bt. for £80,194

The present portraits are versions of Ramsay's celebrated portrait types of King George and Queen Charlotte, the prime versions of which are in the Royal Collection, and in Schloss Wilhelmshohe, Kassel.  Many versions of these portraits were painted to satisfy the demands of the King's and Queen's friends and relations, official institutions, fellow sovereigns and the King's representatives overseas.  When visiting Ramsay's studio in Soho Square, Joseph Moser remarked that he found "his show-room crowded with portraits of His Majesty in every stage of their operation.  The ardour with which these beloved objects were sought for by distant corporations and transmarine colonies was astonishing; the painter with all the assistance he could procure could by no means satisfy the diurnal demands that were made in Soho Square upon his talents and industry".