Demure in Profile

The sitter in this quietly demure profile portrait by George Engleheart wears her hair in a fashionable ‘up-do’, a style that necessitated the use of horsehair or wool pads over which the hair would be stretched. The rope of pearls threaded through her hair mirrors the decoration on the sleeve of her dress. These hair and costume details date the portrait to the mid 1770s when Engleheart was just embarking on his career as a miniature artist. Influenced by Joshua Reynold’s society portraits, he favoured the profile pose during this period.

Signed with the artist’s initials, the portrait resides in a decorative gold frame with an inner paste-set border.

George Engleheart (1750-1829) ranked amongst the most talented and successful of the artists working during the Georgian heyday of portrait miniature painting. During his career he painted close to 5,000 miniatures with 1788 being his busiest year.

APHA Registered