19 OF 900 
Robert Pollard
19 of 900 portraits matching these criteria:
- subject matching 'Making art'
- Overview
- Extended catalogue entry
Regency Portraits Catalogue
Robert Pollard
by Richard Samuel
1784
48 3/4 in. x 39 in. (1238 mm x 991 mm)
NPG 1020
This portraitback to top
Richard Samuel's portraits are unusual; he exhibited one miniature at the Society of Arts in 1768 and eight oil portraits at the RA 1772-85. The donor, T. H. Ward, author with Roberts of the standard work on Romney, said: 'The painter (whose works are rare) seems to have studied Gainsborough with a good deal of care' (letter to Cust 21 November 1895 in NPG archive). The elegant rococo twist of the sitter's body could be compared to Gainsborough's 'James Quin' of 1763 in Dublin, and others are not hard to find.
Physical descriptionback to top
Three-quarter-length seated on a flowery bank under an oak tree holding porte-crayon and paper; long grey coat, black trousers, grey waistcoat frogged with gold, white neckcloth and shirt-frill; reddish-brown hair, dark blue eyes, fresh complexion, smiling expression; lake and woody hills in background.
Provenanceback to top
Richard Samuel exhibited a 'Portrait of a Gentleman', RA, 1785 (125) - possibly NPG 1020.
This extended catalogue entry is from the out-of-print National Portrait Gallery collection catalogue: Richard Walker, Regency Portraits, National Portrait Gallery, 1985, 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.