Walter Stephens Lethbridge Portrait Miniature c1805
Directory: Fine Art: Paintings: Miniatures: Pre 1837 VR: Item # 1374263
Please refer to our stock # a1642 when inquiring.
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A miniature painting displaying the work of Walter Stephens Lethbridge at its finest. The sitter, according to family records of the former owners, is H.B. Lott, a Member of Parliament from Honiton, Devon. Lott, a handsome blue-eyed curly-haired gentleman, is posed against a clouded blue background, and is wearing a bluish gray jacket with gold buttons, a gold weskit, and a white ruffled shirt with a white stock.
The reverse of the gold case deserves special mention, having a tailed circlet of hair centered with the initials HBL done with tiny seed pearls, and banded with larger pearls. Sprigs of seed pearls issue from the band, and the whole is backed with cobalt blue glass.
The painting, with a sight size of 2 5/8" by 2 1/8", is in superb condition, with no problems, and the backing is also in excellent condition, save a few of the seed pearls having dislodged.
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE: Lethbridge (1772–1831?) was born in Charleton, Devonshire, and was later apprenticed to a house-painter. For a short time he acted as the assistant to an itinerant artist, and then went to London where he studied in the schools of the Royal Academy. From 1801 to 1829 Lethbridge was an annual exhibitor of miniatures at the Academy which included portraits of many theatrical celebrities. His works are in The National Portrait Gallery and the V&A Museum.
