Portrait of a Man, Seated in Front of a Writing Desk
Henry Edridge British
Probably Henry Duncombe British
Not on view
In the 1790s Edridge was a proponent of a new type of small-scale full-length portrait drawn in graphite and finished using ink and watercolor washes. This striking example depicts a country gentleman at work in his study; the artist emphasized his bookcase by adding a strip of paper at the top. A small vase near the sitter’s shoulder suggests his love of the outdoors, a rough caricature on the wall introduces a note of humor, and a collapsed hanging scale at upper left hints at the practicalities of running a country estate. An old inscription on the verso of the sheet identifies the sitter as Henry Duncombe (1728–1818), a Yorkshire gentleman who entered Parliament in 1780, voted with the Opposition, and supported the reform efforts of William Pitt the younger
Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.