Attributed to Thomas Frye Dublin 1710-1762 London

Private collection, England. 

Despite the brevity of his career, Frye became a highly regarded portrait painter in London, where he moved from his native Dublin in 1735.  Indeed, less than a year after his arrival in the English capital in 1736, Frye was commissioned to paint a full-length portrait of Frederick, Prince of Wales by the Saddler's Company, London, which has since been destroyed.  In this Portrait of a Young Girl, Frye displays both the full measure of his sensitive observation of the sitter's appearance and the childish quality of her gesture toward the table.  It is very likely that this young girl was the daughter of a well-to-do military officer, as evidenced by her choice of toys.  The simple austerity of the surroundings was probably intended by the artist, to allow the viewer to focus on the depiction of the young girl and the table next to her.