Arthur Devis (English, 1712-1787), A gentleman in an interior leaning on a giltwood chair by a window

Lot description

Arthur Devis (English, 1712-1787) A gentleman in an interior leaning on a giltwood chair by a window Oil on canvas Painted circa 1750 Contained in its fine carved, pierced and gilded decorated with flowers and entwined tendrils Provenance: Sir Herbert Hughes-Stanton, R.A. (1870-1937); Mrs. Robert Tritton, removed from Godmersham Park, Kent; Christie's, London, 25 March 1966, lot 60. Sale, Christie's, London, 24 June 1977, lot 85 (£2,000). Private collection, England Exhibited: Preston, 1937, “Lancashire Art”, number 5 Literature: Sidney Paviere Arthur Devis, Walpole Society XXV (1936) page 130 number 68 Arthur Devis trained with the sporting and topographical landscape artist Peter Tillemans, whose sale in London in 1733 included nine of Devis's Italianate landscapes with ruins. His earliest documented work is a bird's-eye view, Hoghton Tower, Lancashire (1735, priv. coll.). Soon thereafter he began to produce portraits in the conversation piece genre, described as a painting of one or more full-length figures in small scale, frequently accompanied by family members with their possessions, furnishings, and domestic animals, in compositions set within proprietary interiors or landscapes. The most prolific of the eighteenth-century conversation piece artists, Devis produced more than 300 paintings in the format for members of the established, and largely tory, landed gentry and professional classes. Devis exhibited at the Free Society of Artists between 1761 and 1763, between 1767 and 1770, in 1775, and in 1780, and was elected president of the organization in 1768. After the Royal Academy's founding in 1768, English artists were no longer marginalized by connoisseurs, and many enjoyed international reputations. In this competitive milieu, Devis's modest reputation suffered a steep decline, not to be reassessed until the 1930s. He has since been recognized as a master of his special craft, that of describing, in small compass, the ideals of a privileged society. The recent cleaning of the painting has confirmed that the painting, which was formerly exceedingly dirty, is an autograph work by the artist; he uses the same compositional device of a gentleman leaning on a chair is such portraits as “Mr Thomas” (offered for sale 5th December 2012 Bonhams, London) and his 1743 portrait of Thomas Hunt (Private Coll.) and William Trollope (Christies, London, 6th July 2011 (152). Dimensions: (Frame) 40 in. (H) x 33 in. (W) (Canvas) 30 in. (H) x x 25 in. (W)