Lot 1071: Attributed to Charles Shirreff (b.1750): Portrait

Attributed to Charles Shirreff (b.1750): Portrait of a Gentleman, circa 1790, his powdered hair en queue, turning to sinister, wearing white shirt and blue overcoat, against a sky background, oval, 6cm by 5.2cm, in gold metal closed back frame with vase form suspension loop Charles Shirreff was born in Scotland-possibly in Edinburgh. He entered the R.A. Schools 9 August 1769. He was working in Bath 1791-95, and is said to have worked in Brighton, Deptford and Cambridge. He went to India to work in 1797, and worked in Madras and Calcutta for some length of time. This miniature shows some of the characteristics of his work-especially the use of criss-cross hatching for both modelling features and shading backgrounds. See Foskett (Daphne) A Dictionary of British Miniature Painters, vol 1, pg.506, and plates vol 2, pls.330, 821-824.