George Smith; John Smith

Inscriptionback to top

Inscribed in a contemporary hand, [1] bottom left: George & John Smith/of Chichester/painted by themselves.

1) Tests made by Miss J. Plesters, National Gallery.

This portraitback to top

A small picture in identical pose, with the Leicester Galleries, 1929; as Gainsborough and Thicknesse, shows a different landscape background with a large tree (oak?) left, and a castle on a mound, right. A cruder version of NPG 4117 was sold at Sotheby's, 23 March 1966, lot 103. On the evidence of the engraving by Woollett (see All Known Portraits), the standing figure is likely to be George. A portrait of the Smith brothers by themselves was bequeathed by James Lambert (1741-99) of Lewes to Lieutenant Samuel Baker of the Royal Artillery, stationed at Brighton. [1] The subsequent history of the painting, and whether it relates to NPG 4117, is not known.

Footnotesback to top

1) W. H. Challen, ‘Baldy's Garden, the Painters Lambert, and other Sussex Families', Sussex Archaeological Collections, XC, p 130.

Physical descriptionback to top

Seated figure: brown wig, black hat edged with gold lace, vermilion coat with blue collar, white gold-trimmed waistcoat, yellow breeches, white stockings, black shoes. Standing figure: brown wig, lavender coat with green collar, lemon waistcoat, green breeches, white stockings; in a landscape of rocks, trees, a river at their feet, pale grey mountains in the distance with blue sky shading through grey to pinkish-yellow, right.

Conservationback to top

Minute repairs to both faces; retouching to coat of seated figure and hairline cracks between him and waterfall, touched in.

Provenanceback to top

Bought 1959 from the Leger Galleries, the purchasers at Sotheby's, 22 July 1959, lot 57; at Christie's, 3 July 1880, lot 89, from the collection of George Smith, [1] Paddockhurst, Crawley; intervening history not known.

1) Not apparently related.

Exhibitionsback to top

'British Self-Portraits', Arts Council, 1962 (24).


This extended catalogue entry is from the out-of-print National Portrait Gallery collection catalogue: John Kerslake, Early Georgian Portraits, Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1977, 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 George Smith