George Romney

Sydney Morse;
By whose Estate sold, London, Christie's, 26 July 1929, lot 46 (as a portrait of H.J. Richter, Esq.) to Colnaghi;
With P.&D. Colnaghi, London;
From whom purchased by the Art Gallery of Ontario in 1937 (Acc. no. 2433).

Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1951 (no cat. no.);
Waterloo, Ont., Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery; Windsor, Ont. Art Gallery; Edmonton, Ab., Art Gallery, George Romney in Canada, September 1985 - April 1986, no. 6.

R.H. Hubbard, European Paintings in Canadian Collections, Toronto 1956, vol. I, p. 154 (as a portrait of H.J. Richter);
J.C. Watson, in George Romney in Canada, exhibition catalogue, Waterloo, 1985, p. 41, cat. no. 6, reproduced;
A. Kidson, George Romney: A Complete Catalogue of His Paintings, London and New Haven 2015, vol. II, p. 492, cat. no. 1095, reproduced.

There is an old glue relining. The paint surface has been pressed in the relining and the canvas pattern shows through slightly, more noticeably in the flesh tones. Overall the figure reads quite well. There is some noticeable thinness to the browns of the background and in the hair. There is a very small scuff to left of ear and a small discolored retouch (appears to be an old filled loss) in center left background. Another filled loss can be seen in his green coat at lower center. It is difficult to see much under UV light due to the old varnish. The old retouches mentioned above fluoresce. It appears that there may be some older inpainting of craquelure in the background that is under the old varnish, but it is hard to tell. Offered in a carved and 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.

The sitter was an engraver and partner in the firm of Richter and Bartoli which produced scagliola, an imitation marble.  Born in Dresden, he came to England in circa 1764.  He married Mary Haig with whom he had three sons, one of which was the painter Henry J. Richter.  Romney lived at Richter’s premises on Great Newport Street from 1768-73.  When this portrait was sold at auction in 1929 (see Provenance), the sitter was misidentified as H. J. Richter, but both Watson and Kidson(see Literature) support the identification of the sitter as the elder Richter painted in circa 1772 when he would have been in his early forties.