John Smart: Drawn to Perfection

Charming small exhibition at Philip Mould & Company of miniatures by the 18th century artist, John Smart.

The show brought together paintings and detailed sketches which Smart had made as preparatory works and as a record of his output. He mounted these in albums which his family  broke up in the 1930s selling the drawings. In one case the show had both the drawing and final picture.

Each work had the sitters name and colour notes on the back which has helped to identify some of the sitters in the paintings. These were delicate very personal works.

I was  fascinated to read that he had spent some time in India producing work for the British colonial community there.

Closed 24 November 2023

 

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