- 128
George Romney
Estimate
30,000 - 50,000 GBP
bidding is closed
Description
- George Romney
- Portrait of William Hayley (1745-1820)
- oil on canvas, framed as an oval
Provenance
Possibly the portrait presented to William Cowper (1731-1800) by Hayley circa 1792;
With R. & A. Ackermann, Regent Street, London;
Anonymous sale, London, Sotheby's, 31 October 1962, lot 240, where acquired by the father of the present owner for £480;
Thence by descent.
With R. & A. Ackermann, Regent Street, London;
Anonymous sale, London, Sotheby's, 31 October 1962, lot 240, where acquired by the father of the present owner for £480;
Thence by descent.
Exhibited
Previously on loan to Pallant House Gallery, Chichester.
Literature
H. Ward and W. Roberts, Romney, London 1904, Vol. II, p. 75, no. 3;
To be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonné of George Romney's paintings by Alex Kidson.
Engraved
By H. Robinson, for Sotheby's edition of Cowper's Works, 1837, Vol. IX, facing p. 56.
To be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonné of George Romney's paintings by Alex Kidson.
Engraved
By H. Robinson, for Sotheby's edition of Cowper's Works, 1837, Vol. IX, facing p. 56.
Condition
This colour tone is slightly warmer than the catalogue illustration suggests. The painting appears to be in good condition, with no extant damage or loss of paint. It has a firm lining, and as a result the surface is a little flat and has been slightly pressed into the canvas weave. However the paint does not appear to have suffered from erosion. Examination under ultraviolet light reveals retouching in the background, particularly above the sitter's head, as well as in the sitter's neck and jaw line. The outline of the nose has been strengthened, giving the profile a slightly harder edge than one would expect from the artist, and there are a small number of very minor superfluous retouchings in the face. There are a few minor retouchings in the arm, at the bottom of the canvas. The picture is held in a gilded neo-classical wooden frame, with a slight damage in the lower left and right. The frame has been inserted with an oval slip, in which the picture is presented.
To speak to a specialist about this lot please contact Julian Gascoigne on +44 (0)207 293 5482, or at julian.gascoigne@sothebys.com.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
Catalogue Note
ENGRAVED
By H. Robinson, for Sotheby's edition of Cowper's Works, 1837, Vol. IX, facing p. 56.
Painted in 1778, this portrait of the poet and biographer William Hayley is one of a small and important group of works depicting the sitter by Romney. Born in Chichester, the son of Thomas Hayley (1715-1748), whose father was Dean of Chichester, and his second wife Mary (1718-1774), Hayley was one of Romney's closest friends and his loyalest patron. The artist, who was introduced to Hayley in 1776, was a frequent visitor to Eartham, the poet's country residence just outside Chichester, where Hayley, who reveled in being close to talented people, entertained a number of the leading writers, artists and thinkers of his day; including Romney, William Cowper, Edward Gibbon and William Blake. An avid patron, who took huge delight in advancing the careers of his friends, Hayley published his first major printed work in 1778, entitled Epistle on Painting, Addressed to George Romney. He would later dedicate an Essay on History to Edward Gibbon, another close friend, as well as addresses to Admiral Keppel and William Mason, and included an Ode to Mr. Wright of Derby in his publication of Plays and Poems in 1788.
Hayley's most successful work, The Triumphs of Temper, first published in 1794, ran into fourteen editions, becoming one of the most successful poems of the age, and in 1790 he was offered, but declined, the Poet Laureateship. In 1792 he wrote his Life of John Milton, to accompany a publication of Milton's works by Boydell. The public acclaim with which this was received persuaded Hayley to turn his attention to biography, arranging Gibbon's papers in preparation for a posthumous Autobiography, and in 1803 publishing a Life of Cowper, which was a major financial success. His Life of Romney, begun shortly after the artist's death in 1802, was published in 1809.
The friendship between artist and poet is illustrated in Romney's 1796 work The Four Friends (Abbot Hall Art Gallery, Kendal), which includes portraits of the artist himself, William Hayley, his son Thomas Hayley, and William Meyer. In 1795 he had also painted a work entitled John Flaxman Modelling the Bust of William Hayley (Yale Centre for British Art, New Haven), and a portrait of Hayley by Romney, in pensive mood leaning against a folio, was sold in these rooms, on 8th November 1995, lot 59. This picture is possibly the portrait presented to Cowper by Hayley in the early 1790s, an argument which is lent weight by the fact that it is the one which was used to illustrate the edition of Cowper's poems in the 1830s. On 26th August 1792 Cowper wrote to Lady Hesketh saying "Hayley, whose love for me seems to be truly that of a brother, has given me his picture, drawn by Romney about fifteen years ago; an admirable likeness"1. We are grateful to Alex Kidson for his assistance in the cataloguing of this lot.
1. H. Ward and W. Roberts, op.cit., p. 75.
By H. Robinson, for Sotheby's edition of Cowper's Works, 1837, Vol. IX, facing p. 56.
Painted in 1778, this portrait of the poet and biographer William Hayley is one of a small and important group of works depicting the sitter by Romney. Born in Chichester, the son of Thomas Hayley (1715-1748), whose father was Dean of Chichester, and his second wife Mary (1718-1774), Hayley was one of Romney's closest friends and his loyalest patron. The artist, who was introduced to Hayley in 1776, was a frequent visitor to Eartham, the poet's country residence just outside Chichester, where Hayley, who reveled in being close to talented people, entertained a number of the leading writers, artists and thinkers of his day; including Romney, William Cowper, Edward Gibbon and William Blake. An avid patron, who took huge delight in advancing the careers of his friends, Hayley published his first major printed work in 1778, entitled Epistle on Painting, Addressed to George Romney. He would later dedicate an Essay on History to Edward Gibbon, another close friend, as well as addresses to Admiral Keppel and William Mason, and included an Ode to Mr. Wright of Derby in his publication of Plays and Poems in 1788.
Hayley's most successful work, The Triumphs of Temper, first published in 1794, ran into fourteen editions, becoming one of the most successful poems of the age, and in 1790 he was offered, but declined, the Poet Laureateship. In 1792 he wrote his Life of John Milton, to accompany a publication of Milton's works by Boydell. The public acclaim with which this was received persuaded Hayley to turn his attention to biography, arranging Gibbon's papers in preparation for a posthumous Autobiography, and in 1803 publishing a Life of Cowper, which was a major financial success. His Life of Romney, begun shortly after the artist's death in 1802, was published in 1809.
The friendship between artist and poet is illustrated in Romney's 1796 work The Four Friends (Abbot Hall Art Gallery, Kendal), which includes portraits of the artist himself, William Hayley, his son Thomas Hayley, and William Meyer. In 1795 he had also painted a work entitled John Flaxman Modelling the Bust of William Hayley (Yale Centre for British Art, New Haven), and a portrait of Hayley by Romney, in pensive mood leaning against a folio, was sold in these rooms, on 8th November 1995, lot 59. This picture is possibly the portrait presented to Cowper by Hayley in the early 1790s, an argument which is lent weight by the fact that it is the one which was used to illustrate the edition of Cowper's poems in the 1830s. On 26th August 1792 Cowper wrote to Lady Hesketh saying "Hayley, whose love for me seems to be truly that of a brother, has given me his picture, drawn by Romney about fifteen years ago; an admirable likeness"1. We are grateful to Alex Kidson for his assistance in the cataloguing of this lot.
1. H. Ward and W. Roberts, op.cit., p. 75.