Sir Joshua Reynolds P.R.A.

By inheritance to the sitter's daughter, Elizabeth, who married Charles Purvis of Darsham Hall, Suffolk;
A.H. Kennedy Purvis, London, 1918;
With Spink, London, 1926;
Mr. and Mrs. Louis Colwell, Montreal;
By whom sold ("Property of Mrs. Louis Colwell"), New York, Parke-Bernet, 28 November 1951, lot 94;
There purchased by the family of the present owner.

Toronto, Ontario, Art Gallery of Toronto, Loan Exhibition of Portraits, 7 October - 6 November 1927, no. 94 (lent by Mrs. Louis S. Colwell, Montreal).

A. Graves and W.V. Cronin, A History of the Works of Sir Joshua Reynolds, London 1899, Vol. I, p. 215.
D. Mannings, Sir Joshua Reynolds, A Complete Catalogue of His Paintings, New Haven 2000, Text Vol., p. 155, cat. no. 458, Plates Vol., reproduced figure 480 (as untraced).

The canvas has an old glue relining. Overall this painting is in very good condition. There is only one area of damage, which appears to be an old repaired puncture to the canvas, and UV light reveals a repaired hole approximatley three inches wide in right side of the sitter's green jacket. The repair to this hole has been applied well and is not disturbing to the naked eye. The painting may be hung in its current state. In a carved gilt wood frame.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Edward Holden Cruttenden arrived in Calcutta in 1737 where he was employed by the East India Company, first as a Writer in the Accomptants Office and later as a Senior Merchant.  He was also a member of the Council of Calcutta and Lieutenant-Governor of Fort William, the fort built by the British on the River Hooghly.  He married Elizabeth Jedderie on 7 April 1746 at St. Anne's Anglican Church, Calcutta with whom he had three children, Elizabeth (born 1752); Sarah (born 1754); and Edward (born circa 1756).  His career with the East India Company was not without controversy and he was dismissed in 1755.  He remained in India as a free merchant and was subsequently restored to the Company's service in 1756.  Following the attack in that same year on Fort William by the army of the Nawab of Bengal, Mrs. Cruttenden and her children fled to Fulta where she subsequently died.  Edward Cruttenden eventually returned to England with his children.  He bought estates at Putney Heath in Surrey and a residence in St. Andrew Holborn, London.   He was made a director of the East India Company in 1765, an appointment he held until his death in 1771.

Cruttenden's first appointment with Reynolds is recorded on 29 October 1759 with numerous other sittings that year; however, the portrait was not completed until 1767-69.  Reynolds also painted a portrait in circa 1763 of the three Cruttenden children in a landscape with their ayah, or Indian nurse, who had returned with the family to England (now in the Museu de Arte de Sao Paulo Assis Chateaubriand, Brazil).  A portrait of the two Cruttenden sisters, Elizabeth and Sarah, was also painted by Thomas Gainsborough.