LOT Old Heritage Auctions  /  2007 December Signature Fine Art Auction #656  / 

23053

A Portrait of a Young Man by Sir Francis Grant

Currency:USD Category:Antiques Start Price:30,000.00 USD Estimated At:40,000.00 - 80,000.00 USD
A Portrait of a Young Man by Sir Francis Grant
<B>Attributed to SIR FRANCIS GRANT, PRA </B></I>(Scottish 1803-1878)<BR><I>Portrait of a Young Man, George Osbaldeston</B></I>, Mid-19th Century<BR>Oil on canvas<BR>102 x 80-1/2 inches (259.1 x 204.5 cm)<BR>Unsigned<BR> <BR>Provenance:<BR>Crow Art Partnership Collection, Dallas, Texas<BR><BR>Francis Grant was born to a wealthy Scottish landowner in 1803 at Edinburgh. While his early life was spent indulging a passion for fox hunting and collecting sporting paintings, he took up painting the outdoors he had loved so much following the death of his father. In <I>Portrait of a Young Man</B></I>, <I>George Osbaldeston,</B></I> Grant portrays a young gentleman posing beside his favorite mount, a striking white horse, while flanked by two hounds and a terrier, ready for the excitement of the next hunt. The subject of the portrait is believed to be George Osbaldeston, a famous sportsman of the period, owing to the man's resemblance to a much smaller likeness of Osbaldston by Grant, now in the National Portrait Gallery, London. Osbaldeston was famous for his antics on horseback, having once trotted his noted American horse <I>Tom Thumb </B></I>over 100 miles in 10 hours.<BR><BR>The detail Grant achieved in this portrait is remarkable, especially considering its monumental scale at 102 by 80 ½ inches.His flair for blending the particulars of landscape, a sporting scene, and highly refined portraiture won him tremendous fame and popularity. He was ultimately knighted soon after becoming president of the Royal Academy in 1866. Queen Victoria, Sir Walter Scott (the author of <I>Ivanhoe</B></I>),<I> </B></I>Macaulay, Disraeli, and many other lumninaries sat to him, and many of his most distinguished likenesses are preserved in the National Portrait Gallery, London. <B>Condition Report:</B> Normal signs of wear as appropriate with age. Painting has been relined, missing original tacking edges. Shallow scratch to paint (2 inches long) just above horse rump.<BR><BR><b>Shipping:</b> Requires 3rd Party Shipping (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.heritageauctions.com/common/shipping.php">view shipping information</a>)
Sign In to Bookmark Lot