- 788
John Opie, R.A.
Estimate
3,000 - 5,000 GBP
bidding is closed
Description
- John Opie, R.A.
- Portrait of John Penwarne Junior (b. 1758), resting on a mossy bank, holding a book
- oil on canvas
Provenance
By family descent from the sitter to Mrs Penwarne-Wellings, Ashburton, South Devon;
By whom sold, London, Sotheby's, 24 March 1911, lot 72, for £21 to Griffith;
With Leicester Galleries, London;
Anonymous sale, London, Sotheby's, 24 June 1931, lot 110, for £27 to Carstairs.
By whom sold, London, Sotheby's, 24 March 1911, lot 72, for £21 to Griffith;
With Leicester Galleries, London;
Anonymous sale, London, Sotheby's, 24 June 1931, lot 110, for £27 to Carstairs.
Literature
J.J. Rogers, Opie and his Works, London 1878, p. 134;
A. Earland, Opie and his Circle, London 1911, p. 306.
A. Earland, Opie and his Circle, London 1911, p. 306.
Catalogue Note
John and his brother Edward were early patrons of Opie, and remained his firm and intimate friends until his death. This portrait of John is dated by John Jope Rogers and Ada Earland to 1778–81. Opie painted a second portrait of Penwarne around the same time in another half-length, in fancy dress. He also painted John's father, also named John, brother Edward, sister Elizabeth, and daughter Anne. Anne married Mr George Wellings of Ludlow, and all these Penwarne family portraits were handed down through the Wellings family. The portraits were eventually separated when all except the portrait of Anne were sold in these Rooms in 1911.