George Romney

Henry Scipio Reitlinger (1882-1951), London (L.2274a);

Sir John Clermont Witt (1907-1982), London (L.646a);

sale, London, Christie’s, 6 December 2012, lot 196;

sale, New York, Sotheby's, 25 January 2023, lot 245

Emma Hart, later Lady Hamilton (1765-1849) was introduced to George Romney in the summer of 1782 and for the next decade she became his most important muse. 

Although the present drawing does not seem to be directly connected to a known oil painting of Emma Hamilton, Romney did depict Emma holding a flute in his Calypso, a work painted for George, Prince of Wales in 1792.¹

The drawing has formed part of two distinguished collections, that of Henry Scipio Reitlinger, an art historian and that of Sir John Clermont Witt, a solicitor and patron of the arts.  

1. A. Kidson, The Paintings of George Romney, vol. III, New Haven 2015, p. 674, no. 1487