Pea Green Coat

Two elements that defined the fashionable gentleman during the last quarter of the eighteenth century were the height of his wig and the colour and cut of his coat. Although this fine-looking gentleman’s wig is modest in height, his choice of pea green silk or velvet for his coat is very stylish and speaks of wealth as, before the discovery of arsenic as a dye, green was notoriously difficult to make colourfast.

The well-modelled and finely detailed portrait has retained its colouring and is set in a gold fausse-montre frame with a chased border and solid reverse.

A native of Devonshire, Richard Crosse (1742-1810) was born deaf and dumb, as was one of his sisters. He began painting miniatures as a hobby and in 1758 won a prize at the Society of Arts that inspired him to study art. He became a successful artist and built up a distinguished clientele that included royalty. He fell in love with his cousin, Miss Cobley, but she did not reciprocate and married elsewhere, the disappointment reportedly turning him into a misanthrope.

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