Collection Online as of October 2, 2023
Portrait of a Man
George Engleheart
(British, 1752–1829)
Watercolor on ivory, in a later gold, enamel, and diamond frame
Framed: 8.7 x 7.4 cm (3 7/16 x 2 15/16 in.); Unframed: 7.7 x 6.2 cm (3 1/16 x 2 7/16 in.)
The Edward B. Greene Collection 1941.556
Location
not on view
Description
This work dates to around 1800, when George Engleheart was in the mature stage of his career. The sitter wears a blue coat with brass buttons over a yellow waistcoat and high white collar with ruffles. The initials W.A. on the back of the case probably identify the sitter, but Engleheart’s fee book records only his sitter’s surname in most instances, so it is impossible to determine if this portrait is among those numerous sitters with an A surname. The meticulous construction of the elaborate case and the nature of its components—gold, enamel, and diamonds—indicates that it is probably original.
The gold initials on the bordered, blue enamel back are encircled with braided brown hair. The twenty-four brilliant-cut diamonds are genuine, though paste diamonds were becoming more widely available during this period. When this work entered Cleveland’s collection in the 1940s, the cost of reproducing the frame was noted in curatorial records to be 20,000 to 25,000 francs, according to the dealer Leo Schidlof. It is the only miniature from the Greene collection whose setting was evaluated in such a way.
George Engleheart
George Engleheart was born in Kew to a German plaster modeler. Among his teachers were George Barret (1728/32–
1784) and Joshua Reynolds (1723–1792), whose work Engleheart copied in miniature. One of Richard Cosway’s (1742–1821) greatest rivals and stylistically the closest to his work, Engleheart worked primarily in London until retiring in 1813, after which date he painted few miniatures. Engleheart’s miniatures have a more linear, labored manner than those of Cosway, whose painterly works were often left unfinished near the edges. Like Cosway, Engleheart often placed
his figures against a background of sky. But the firm draftsmanship (especially in the hair), heavy brows, and the use of grays and blacks for shadows are distinctive to Engleheart, who was celebrated for his ability to capture a sitter’s likeness closely. Engleheart’s productivity is documented by the fee book he kept between 1775 and 1813, which records an astounding total of 4,853 miniatures. He exhibited at the Royal Academy between 1773 and 1812, and was miniature painter to King George III from 1789. There are three fine Engleheart miniatures in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art, all portraits of gentlemen dating near the turn of the century.
1784) and Joshua Reynolds (1723–1792), whose work Engleheart copied in miniature. One of Richard Cosway’s (1742–1821) greatest rivals and stylistically the closest to his work, Engleheart worked primarily in London until retiring in 1813, after which date he painted few miniatures. Engleheart’s miniatures have a more linear, labored manner than those of Cosway, whose painterly works were often left unfinished near the edges. Like Cosway, Engleheart often placed
his figures against a background of sky. But the firm draftsmanship (especially in the hair), heavy brows, and the use of grays and blacks for shadows are distinctive to Engleheart, who was celebrated for his ability to capture a sitter’s likeness closely. Engleheart’s productivity is documented by the fee book he kept between 1775 and 1813, which records an astounding total of 4,853 miniatures. He exhibited at the Royal Academy between 1773 and 1812, and was miniature painter to King George III from 1789. There are three fine Engleheart miniatures in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art, all portraits of gentlemen dating near the turn of the century.