Lot 594: A fair, with a crowd gathered in a square by the Red Lion Inn, with actors on a balcony, and a recruiting officer and drummer beside a stall

Attributed to John Laguerre (1688-1748 London) A fair, with a crowd gathered in a square by the Red Lion Inn, with actors on a balcony, and a recruiting officer and drummer beside a stall oil on canvas 32 x 47¼ in. (81.3 x 120 cm.)

81.3 x 120 cm.

On loan to the British Embassy in Paris through the Ministry of Works, London.

Anonymous sale; Sotheby's, New York, 25 September 1968, lot 11. with Monty Bernard, London, 1969. Anonymous sale; Sotheby's, London, 12 March 1980, lot 89.

John Laguerre was the son of the history painter Louis Laguerre and was regarded by the contemporary diarist, George Vertue, as a gifted artist. He was also a successful singer and actor, performing at Covent Garden and Lincoln's Inn Fields. It is difficult to locate the scene with any precision; fairs in the London suburbs included Chiswick, Bartholomew, Camberwell, Peckham and Mitcham. Soldiers of the second regiment of Foot Guards, shown lower left, were commonly stationed in the capital.