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Description: | bound volume (dimensions 54 x 38 x 7) title inscr. on plate b.c. "THE LADY HOWARD."; s. on plate b.r. "I. Smith fec. & exc:"; inscr. on plate b.l. "G. Kneller Eques pinx:" CRE SMITH, John; (English; 1652-1743) AFTER KNELLER, Godfrey, Sir; (English; 1646-1723) Part of William Hunter's original bequest, this is one of three volumes which together contain 488 mezzotints, almost all made or published by John Smith. About two thirds are portraits of eminent late Stuart, early Hanoverian persons, and one third fancy and mythological subjects.
Instrumental in raising the standard of mezzotint portraits, Smith was the first British printmaker to gain a European reputation, and examples of his work were essential for any serious early to mid 18th century European print collection.
Hunter's set of volumes is a rare surviving example of a comprehensive collection of mezzotints compiled in the 1730s.
Smith's close association with leading portrait painter Godfrey Kneller, author of this portrait, was key to his success. From around 1690 almost all engravings after portraits by Kneller, were executed by Smith.
This portrait was made in the year the sitter, Annabella Dives, became the fourth wife of playwright and politician Sir Robert Howard in 1693. Kneller painted a later portrait of her, also represented by a print in this volume (Glaha 16225) among a group of portraits of wives and daughters of eminent men. | License: | http://www.hmag.gla.ac.uk/spirit/rights/ | Publisher: | Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery, University of Glasgow | Rights holder: | Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery, University of Glasgow | Subjects: | PORTRAIT : FULL-LENGTH : RECLINING : MRS DIVES : SIR ROBERT HOWARD : DR MARTIN : CANON OF WINDSOR : ALBUM : VOLUME : HUNTER VOLUME : | Source: | Hunterian Museum | Creator: | Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery, University of Glasgow | Identifier: | http://www.huntsearch.gla.ac.uk/cgi-bin/... | Language: | en-GB | Go to resource |
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