Sisters

Standing in a landscape with their arms around each other, these two young ladies, undoubtedly sisters, are dressed alike in white muslin empire-line dresses and black slippers, their hair fashionably cropped.

Signed and dated ‘Adam Buck 1816’, the watercolour portrait is set in a handsome period bird’s eye maple frame with a flat profile.

Adam Buck (1759-1833) was an Irish-born portrait painter, print-maker and miniaturist who migrated to London around 1795 where he acquired a fashionable clientele. He is best known for his idealized images of mothers and children; these were readily available during the early 19th century as prints and so became popular templates for young ladies to copy in needlework and watercolour. He exhibited miniatures and watercolour portraits at the Royal Academy between 1796 and 1833.