8th Nov, 2016 12:00
Maritime and Scientific Models, Instruments & Art ('Torch')
71
[M] ALBIN ROBERTS BURT (BRITISH,...
ALBIN ROBERTS BURT (BRITISH, 1783-1842)
Portrait of Lord Nelson circa 1802
Signed 'A R Burt' (lower right on shoulder)
Pencil on silk framed within contemporary gilt brass and wood frame
Image -- 1¾in. (4.5cm.) diameter
Provenance: UK Private Collection.
This attractive and unrecorded portrait is highly distinctive for being executed on silk, a very rare medium for any artist to choose and, indeed, no other example is recorded for this artist suggesting this was an image done from life on a napkin or handkerchief. A. R. Burt would have been uniquely placed to do this as his brother, Henry Frederick Burt was secretary to Lord Nelson, his mother was a close friend of Emma Hamilton, and Albin himself was a friend of Sir William Hamilton. Burt began his life as an engraver, training under Robert Threw and Benjamin Smith but branched out and an advert he applied to the back of some of his pictures states he had New invented a machine by which the most accurate likenesses can be taken. Can with confidence recommend his portraits to the public, especially as the practice of many Thousands has give his Pencil a facility that enables him to afford the coloured Profiles at / Half-a-Guinea each / and more finished at 1 Guinea.
This image - in any format - is not recorded in the late Richard Walker's seminal 1998 volume The Nelson Portraits and, perhaps not surprisingly, is not recorded in the same author's 1985 volume Regency Portraits. It must therefore be considered an important discovery.
Charles Miller Ltd would like to thank Claudia Hill of Ellison Fine Art for her invaluable assistance with this lot.
Portrait of Lord Nelson circa 1802
Signed 'A R Burt' (lower right on shoulder)
Pencil on silk framed within contemporary gilt brass and wood frame
Image -- 1¾in. (4.5cm.) diameter
Provenance: UK Private Collection.
This attractive and unrecorded portrait is highly distinctive for being executed on silk, a very rare medium for any artist to choose and, indeed, no other example is recorded for this artist suggesting this was an image done from life on a napkin or handkerchief. A. R. Burt would have been uniquely placed to do this as his brother, Henry Frederick Burt was secretary to Lord Nelson, his mother was a close friend of Emma Hamilton, and Albin himself was a friend of Sir William Hamilton. Burt began his life as an engraver, training under Robert Threw and Benjamin Smith but branched out and an advert he applied to the back of some of his pictures states he had New invented a machine by which the most accurate likenesses can be taken. Can with confidence recommend his portraits to the public, especially as the practice of many Thousands has give his Pencil a facility that enables him to afford the coloured Profiles at / Half-a-Guinea each / and more finished at 1 Guinea.
This image - in any format - is not recorded in the late Richard Walker's seminal 1998 volume The Nelson Portraits and, perhaps not surprisingly, is not recorded in the same author's 1985 volume Regency Portraits. It must therefore be considered an important discovery.
Charles Miller Ltd would like to thank Claudia Hill of Ellison Fine Art for her invaluable assistance with this lot.
Sold for £17,360
Estimated at £8,000 - £12,000
(inc. buyer's premium of 24%)
ALBIN ROBERTS BURT (BRITISH, 1783-1842)
Portrait of Lord Nelson circa 1802
Signed 'A R Burt' (lower right on shoulder)
Pencil on silk framed within contemporary gilt brass and wood frame
Image -- 1¾in. (4.5cm.) diameter
Provenance: UK Private Collection.
This attractive and unrecorded portrait is highly distinctive for being executed on silk, a very rare medium for any artist to choose and, indeed, no other example is recorded for this artist suggesting this was an image done from life on a napkin or handkerchief. A. R. Burt would have been uniquely placed to do this as his brother, Henry Frederick Burt was secretary to Lord Nelson, his mother was a close friend of Emma Hamilton, and Albin himself was a friend of Sir William Hamilton. Burt began his life as an engraver, training under Robert Threw and Benjamin Smith but branched out and an advert he applied to the back of some of his pictures states he had New invented a machine by which the most accurate likenesses can be taken. Can with confidence recommend his portraits to the public, especially as the practice of many Thousands has give his Pencil a facility that enables him to afford the coloured Profiles at / Half-a-Guinea each / and more finished at 1 Guinea.
This image - in any format - is not recorded in the late Richard Walker's seminal 1998 volume The Nelson Portraits and, perhaps not surprisingly, is not recorded in the same author's 1985 volume Regency Portraits. It must therefore be considered an important discovery.
Charles Miller Ltd would like to thank Claudia Hill of Ellison Fine Art for her invaluable assistance with this lot.
Portrait of Lord Nelson circa 1802
Signed 'A R Burt' (lower right on shoulder)
Pencil on silk framed within contemporary gilt brass and wood frame
Image -- 1¾in. (4.5cm.) diameter
Provenance: UK Private Collection.
This attractive and unrecorded portrait is highly distinctive for being executed on silk, a very rare medium for any artist to choose and, indeed, no other example is recorded for this artist suggesting this was an image done from life on a napkin or handkerchief. A. R. Burt would have been uniquely placed to do this as his brother, Henry Frederick Burt was secretary to Lord Nelson, his mother was a close friend of Emma Hamilton, and Albin himself was a friend of Sir William Hamilton. Burt began his life as an engraver, training under Robert Threw and Benjamin Smith but branched out and an advert he applied to the back of some of his pictures states he had New invented a machine by which the most accurate likenesses can be taken. Can with confidence recommend his portraits to the public, especially as the practice of many Thousands has give his Pencil a facility that enables him to afford the coloured Profiles at / Half-a-Guinea each / and more finished at 1 Guinea.
This image - in any format - is not recorded in the late Richard Walker's seminal 1998 volume The Nelson Portraits and, perhaps not surprisingly, is not recorded in the same author's 1985 volume Regency Portraits. It must therefore be considered an important discovery.
Charles Miller Ltd would like to thank Claudia Hill of Ellison Fine Art for her invaluable assistance with this lot.
Auction: Maritime and Scientific Models, Instruments & Art ('Torch'), 8th Nov, 2016
