Attributed to John Glover

The artist; thence by descent
Private collection, United Kingdom

 (possibly) Glover's paintings in the possession of Charles Bowles, Esq. 1868, Cheltenham: Middle Hill Press (Sir Thomas Phillipps), 1868

Framed/sealed under glass, but visible condition very good. Small tear and retouching top centre. Vertical line of very slight abrasion top right to bottom right, apparent for approx. 3 cm on waistcoat lower right.
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There are only four previously-known formal portraits of the great Anglo-colonial artist John Glover: a chalk drawing by John Raphael Smith (circa 1786, Allport Library & Museum of Fine Arts, Hobart); a self-portrait in oils (circa 1792, Queen Victoria Museum & Art Gallery, Launceston); another oil, by the Royal Academician Thomas Phillips (1823, collection John Millwood, Launceston); and a miniature by Mary Morton Allport (1832, Allport Library & Museum of Fine Arts, Hobart).

The present work is undoubtedly an image of the artist aged in his early to mid twenties; the features – broad jaw, high forehead with soft fringe, dark eyebrows and piercing blue eyes – closely resemble those in the Allport Library and Launceston pictures. It is therefore of very considerable historical interest, enhanced by its having been preserved in the hands of the artist's family and descendants for over 200 years.

It is, moreover, here attributed to the artist himself. Although best known as a landscape painter, Glover (like his contemporary and rival John Constable) did paint occasional portraits. His early Lichfield patron, the poet Anna Seward, noted his first two forays into 'face-making' as early as 1799, and various subsequent references testify to his ongoing interest in the genre. In addition to the Launceston self-portrait, three other oil portraits survive: Mary, Countess Andover (1802, Levens Hall, U.K.); Marie Ogier Ward (1824, private collection, U.K.) and An emigrant to Van Diemen's Land (probably a portrait of John Richardson Glover, 1830, Tasmanian Museum & Art Gallery, Hobart); as well as a pair of intimate watercolours of his wife Sarah and daughter Mary (circa 1830, private collection, Melbourne).

The rendering of hair and eyes in the present work is certainly comparable to these latter family keepsakes, while the looser brushwork of waistcoat and shirtfront resembles the treatment of Sarah's shawl and arms. Close examination also shows the larger, right eye is clearly fixed looking straight out of the picture (just as in the Launceston self-portrait), a good indication of the work's having been painted in a mirror.