Portrait of Sir John Stewart

Andrew Plimer painted Portrait of Sir John Stewart in 1787, placing the work at the beginning of a career that would make Plimer one of the most popular and technically refined miniaturists in late Georgian England. Plimer studied under Richard Cosway, the reigning genius of the portrait miniature at the court of the Prince of Wales, and absorbed both his master's technical brilliance and his facility with fashionable sitters. Sir John Stewart was a Scottish baronet, and his portrait belongs to the tradition of gentry miniatures that circulated among Scottish and English families as tokens of prestige and personal affection. The year 1787 is early in Plimer's independent career, and the portrait shows a young painter already working with the confidence and polish that would distinguish his mature work.

Plimer's miniature technique combines Cosway's luminous ivory ground with a precise rendering of facial features that betrays his rigorous training. The sitter's powdered wig and coat are indicated with elegant economy, the costume rendered just sufficiently to establish social rank without competing with the face. The background maintains a soft, tinted depth characteristic of the late Georgian miniature tradition.