John Frederick Sackville, 3rd Duke of Dorset (1745-1799)
Sir Joshua Reynolds PRA (Plympton 1723 - London 1792)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
circa 1777 - 1778
Materials
Oil on canvas
Measurements
950 x 820 mm
Place of origin
England
Order this imageCollection
Knole, Kent
NT 129937
Caption
Painted nearly 10 years after Reynolds’s full-length portrait of the 3rd Duke (see 129930), the precise status of this picture, and its relationship to other known versions of the same portrait, is difficult to determine. This is primarily owing to confusing entries in early inventories of the Duke’s pictures, which refer to an original portrait and 2 copies, all of which were, at one time or another, at Knole. The painting has previously been attributed to Thomas Hardy (1757-c.1805), who certainly engraved the original. However, it is now thought to be the original portrait by Reynolds, owing to a discernable Reynolds-technique and the fact that no other picture which could be the first version is known to exist.
Summary
Oil painting on canvas, John Frederick Sackville, 3rd Duke of Dorset (1745-1799) by Sir Joshua Reynolds PRA (Plympton 1723 - London 1792), c.1777-78. An oval-framed half-length portrait, of a young man, turned to the left, gazing at the spectator, in short powdered, wig and red coat with high black collar.
Provenance
On loan from the Trustees of the Sackville Estate
Makers and roles
Sir Joshua Reynolds PRA (Plympton 1723 - London 1792), publisher previously catalogued as attributed to Thomas Hardy (1757–1804), publisher