The Beau Gentleman

This Regency gentleman was evidently influenced in his fashion choice by the Bath socialite Beau Brummell who favoured a streamlined silhouette of well-cut close-fitting garments in plain colours. The cut-back tail coat with its brass buttons and velvet collar is typical of that style, as is the waistcoat and shirt both with standing collars perfect for accommodating the deep stock that Brummell also championed.

Pastel on paper, the portrait is presented in a handsome bird’s eye maple veneer frame with a gilt slip.

The daughter of a blacksmith, Ellen Wallas (1769-1849) married portrait artist James Sharples as his third wife in 1787. The couple had two children. Around 1794 the family emigrated to the US where there was growing demand for portraiture. Based in Philadelphia, Ellen began to draw portraits professionally. In 1801 the family returned home but in 1809 they re-visited New York where James died. Ellen returned to England with her children to settle in Bristol; upon her death she endowed the Bristol Academy for the Promotion of Fine Arts.