The Dyson Children

1787

Not on view

Downman here portrays a baby in a wheeled cart tugging at a kite held by one of two older boys. These are probably the children of Jeremiah Dyson (1757-1835), clerk of the House of Commons, who married Elizabeth Collins in 1781. Their grandfather, Jeremiah Dyson (1722-1776), was Lord of the Treasury and Privy Counsellor to George III, and old labels on the back of the frame that once contained this drawing identify the sitters as his children. This could not be possible if the drawing dates to 1787, because Jeremiah senior died in 1776 and his wife in 1769, while the oldest child here appears to be under six years old.

Artwork Details

Overview

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Provenance

References

Title: The Dyson Children
Artist: John Downman (British, Eynesbury, Huntingdonshire 1749–1824 Wrexham, Wales)
Date: 1787
Medium: Chalk, graphite and watercolor
Dimensions: 21-1/4 x 17 in. (54 x 43.2 cm)
Classification: Drawings
Credit Line: Bequest of Mary Stillman Harkness, 1950
Object Number: 50.145.10
Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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Mrs. Palmer, John Downman British, Welsh, Watercolor, colored chalk over graphite — Mrs. Palmer
John Downman
1785

Elizabeth Ford, later Lady Colville of Culross, John Downman British, Welsh, Watercolor, colored chalk, and graphite — Elizabeth Ford, later Lady Colville of Culross
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Elizabeth Ford
1785

Mrs. Morgan and her Child, John Downman British, Welsh, Watercolor, colored chalk, charcoal over graphite — Mrs. Morgan and her Child
John Downman
1785

Isabella Hunter, Cousin of the Artist, John Downman British, Welsh, Watercolor, colored chalk, and graphite — Isabella Hunter, Cousin of the Artist
John Downman
1781

Child Holding a Doll, John Downman British, Welsh, Watercolor, pastel over graphite — Child Holding a Doll
John Downman
1780

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