James Smetham – Portrait of Man in Profile

Out of stock

Portrait of a Man in Profile: Pen and brown ink on thin white paper. Backing paper: Blue Ingres, laid. Presented in a clear archival acid-free polyester sleeve.

Sheet: 4 9/16 x 4 1/8 in. (11.6 x 10.6 cm.)
Backing paper: 10 5/8 x 8 5/16 in. (27 x 21 cm.)

Provenance: The artist’s family by descent.

Included in the sale is a transcript of a letter written in 1878 by the artist’s daughter to her mother, with a passage explaining why the cover of the album is black instead of the green her mother requested.

Description

The secondary photo lists a drawing by Smetham in the collection of the British Museum. This portrait in pen and ink depicts James Griffin, saddler, of Mare St, Hackney; half-length seen in profile to left, dated 1855. The portrait is remarkably close to ours although there are some differences which makes it impossible to say that the two are related.