James Hill

Painted in watercolour heightened with  gum arabic, this little lad is shown in profile wearing a black coat akin to a skeleton suit with a vertical row of studs running up the front and over his shoulder. This is worn over a shirt with a frilly stand-up collar neatly tied with a blue ribbon bow. He also has an eye-catching peaked soft cap trimmed on the front with a tiny bow.

The watercolour is set in the original ebonised frame with a gilded inner border and brass corner rosettes. The frame is backed with a page from an old auction catalogue. A partly rubbed ink inscription dates the portrait to 1820 (or 1829?) and names the boy as James Hill or James Hill B???, aged 7¾.

The frame and the watercolour are both in excellent condition.