John Newton
Thomas Hudson·c. 1757–60
Historical Context
Thomas Hudson's portrait of John Newton from around 1757-60 depicts a sitter during the era when Hudson was the most successful portrait painter in London, before his pupil Joshua Reynolds eclipsed him. Hudson maintained a prolific practice producing competent, dignified portraits for the English gentry and professional classes. His solid, workmanlike approach to portraiture served as the foundation upon which Reynolds built his more ambitious Grand Manner style.
Technical Analysis
Hudson's oil-on-canvas technique demonstrates his reliable portrait formula with warm, even lighting and careful rendering of the sitter's features and costume. The conventional composition and polished surface reflect the professional standards of mid-18th-century English portraiture.
Provenance
Thomas John Henry Vincent Lane, King's Bromley Manor, Litchfield; sold Sotheby's, London, 8 December 1926, no. 118 as John Newton and his Wife Elizabeth by Cotes to De Casseres for £56 [annotated catalogue in Ryerson Library]. Leggatt Brothers, London, by 1927 at which time the sitter’s wife was excised and portions of the portrait overpainted [according at note by Ellis Waterhouse on the reverse of a photo in the Waterhouse archive, Paul Mellon Centre, London]; sold by Leggatt to Howard Young, 1927 [according to Waterhouse inscription cited above]. Anderson Galleries, New York [according to undated newspaper clipping]. Wally Findlay Galleries, Chicago [acc. to note from Arthur B. Logan dated 7 December 1989 in curatorial files]; sold to Arthur B. Logan, Chicago, 8 March 1955; given to the Art Institute, 1985.
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