Old Masters Day Sale, including portrait miniatures from the collection of the late Dr Erika Pohl-Ströher
Old Masters Day Sale, including portrait miniatures from the collection of the late Dr Erika Pohl-Ströher
Property from a Private Collection
Joseph Wright of Derby, A.R.A.
Portrait of Robert Sutton (1699–1776), of Scofton Hall, Nottinghamshire, holding a gold snuffbox
Lot Closed
December 9, 03:15 PM GMT
Estimate
20,000 - 30,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
Property from a Private Collection
Joseph Wright of Derby, A.R.A.
Derby 1734-1797
Portrait of Robert Sutton (1699–1776), of Scofton Hall, Nottinghamshire, holding a gold snuffbox
inscribed and dated lower right: R.S./ Ætat: 60./ 1760
oil on canvas
unframed: 92.7 x 72.5 cm.; 36½ x 28½ in.
framed: 109 x 89 cm.; 42⅞ x 35 in.
B. Nicolson, Joseph Wright of Derby, 1968, vol. 1, p. 222 (under Sutton).
The artist’s book of sitters dates the picture to 1760, during Wright’s first period of success in his native Derby and the East Midlands. One can immediately see the artist’s debt to Thomas Hudson, the dominant mid-18th century portraitist whose pupil he was until 1757.
Robert Sutton inherited the estate and hall at Scofton, Nottinghamshire from his father Brigadier General Richard Sutton (1674–1737). The estate had been purchased ten years earlier when the Brigadier, who was also MP for Newark and clearly a formidable personality, had sent armed soldiers to occupy the hall due to a delay in the transfer of funds. Scofton remained in the Sutton family until its sale in 1800 to the neighbouring estate of Osberton and the hall was subsequently demolished.