in blue jacket with gold buttons, yellow waistcoat and frilled cravat, powedered hair en queue, ivory, signed and dated 1787
Christie's London. Smart was one of the greatest or even the greatest English miniaturist in his period. he and his friend Cosway were the heads of two diametrically opposite schools, almost comparable with Augustin and Isabey in France at the same period. Smart represented the naturalist school in England while Cosway was a kind of impressionist.Smart was almost the only artist in England to use a warm and natural colouring in his portraits which are of a remarkable fireness, full of life and expression. Smart was rather a prolific artist but most of miniatures fetch high prices in auction sales. This one carried a high pre-sale estimate of £ 8,000 which almost doubled with the final bid.
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