Circle of Thomas Hudson (1701- 1779)  Portrait of an Office...

Hammer

€1,500

Circle of Thomas Hudson (1701- 1779) 

Portrait of an Officer of the Royal Irish Artillery c. 1765 O.O.C., in gilt frame, 99cms x 84cms (39" x 33"). (1)

Provenance:
Christies, 17 May 1995, Sale 7715, Lot 197.
La Corte Degli Ulivi Gallery, Paris 2015 [the painting is accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity signed by Sergio Schina of the La Corte Degli Ulivi Gallery]

Wearing a dark blue jacket over red waistcoat, with a red sash over his shoulder, this officer of the Royal Irish Artillery emanates confidence and authority; qualities found to be in increasingly short supply during the period the Royal Irish Artillery regiment, which saw service in North America. Formed in 1755 as the Artillery Company of Ireland, recruits from around Ireland joined up and were stationed at Chapelizod, in Co. Dublin. In 1777, during the American War of Independence, units of the regiment were dispatched,via Cork, to fight the American colonists, under the command of General John Burgoyne. Gunners from the regiment were marched to New York, where the commanding officer there, Brigadier General James Pattison, had a low opinion of his Irish troops. Unsurprisingly many gunners  deserted and went over to the American side. Buttons from the Royal Irish Artillery regiment have been found at several battle sites in North America. Following the Act of Union, the Royal Irish Artillery was integrated into the Royal Artillery and ceased to exist as a separate regiment.

Born in Devon in 1701, Hudson trained under Jonathan Richardson, before establishing his own successful portrait practice in London in the 1740's. He employed many assistants, including the specialist drapery painter Joseph van Aken. His pupils included Joshua Reynolds and Joseph Wright. In 1748 Hudson visited the Netherlands and he was in Italy four years later. In 1753 he bought a house at Cross Deep, Twickenham, not far from Pope's villa. He died at Twickenham in 1779.

Dr. Peter Murray, 2023