
Poppy Harvey-Jones
Head of Sale
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Sold for £8,125 inc. premium
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Head of Sale
Provenance
The Collection of Sir Edward William Watkin M.P.(1819 – 1901) of Rose Hill, Cheshire
His son, Alfred Mellor Watkin, by descent to
Miss Worsely-Taylor, by whom offered
Sale, Sotheby's, London, 10 November 1982, lot 46
With the Owen Edgar Gallery, London, 1984
With Julian Simon Fine Art, London
Private Collection, UK
Exhibited
London, Royal Academy, 1785, no. 36
Literature
E. W. Clayton, 'Richard Morton Paye', The Connoisseur, vol. XXXVII, December 1913, p. 231, mezzotint by J. Young illustrated p. 232
Engraved
John Young, 1825
The present portrait is traditionally said to depict the son of Dr. John Walcot, a patron of Richard Morton Paye. Walcot, a satirist who wrote under the pen name Peter Pindar, had previously been the patron of John Opie until a disagreement ensued that resulted in the pair parting company. The present portrait caused conflict between the artist and his new patron as, apparently, the latter was unaware of the work until it was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1785. Their already fractious relationship was further aggravated when Paye drew a satirical sketch of Walcot as a bear seated at an easel.