John Phillip

This portraitback to top

According to information supplied by the vendor (letter of 13 February 1947, NPG archives), John Phillip used to stay with J. B. Davenport (1799-1862) of Foxley, Herefordshire [1], the ancestor of Major Davenport. The painting is very close to Phillip's work in style, and the features of the sitter accord well with other early authentic self-portraits, though the comparison is not absolutely conclusive. Major Davenport apparently owned other paintings by Phillip.

Footnotesback to top

1) See Burke's Landed Gentry (1937), pp 571-2.

Physical descriptionback to top

Fresh complexion, dark brown hair. Dressed in a dark stock and waistcoat, dark brown velvet coat and light grey trousers. Seated in a dark green and brown chair, holding a light brown palette, with splashes of red, white and brown paint, and looking at a white canvas, on which is a rough design, apparently of two figures. Beyond the canvas, which has no visible signs of support (an easel is indicated in pencil), is a brown and pink table. A dark red curtain is on the right. The rest of the background is brown.

Provenanceback to top

J. B. Davenport; by descent to Major J. C. Davenport; Russell Baldwin & Bright of Leominster; Leger Galleries, purchased from them, 1947.


This extended catalogue entry is from the out-of-print National Portrait Gallery collection catalogue: Richard Ormond, Early Victorian Portraits, Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1973, and is as published then. For the most up-to-date details on individual Collection works, we recommend reading the information provided in the Search the Collection results on this website in parallel with this text.

View all known portraits for John Phillip