Lot 255: George Dawe, R.A. (1781-1829)

Portrait Benjamin Flight (1767-1846), three-quarter-length, seated at a table by an organ
oil on canvas
38 x 34 1/2 in. (96.5 x 87.5 cm)

London, Royal Academy, 1813, no. 176, as 'Mr. Flight'.

Flight was a partner in the London organ building firm, Flight & Robson, which became known for the ingenuity of the construction of their mechanical organs. Famously they were responsible for creating the 'Apollonicon' organ, which was of Grecian style and stood twenty-four feet high, twenty feet wide and eighteen feet deep. It had six keyboards and required six organists to play it. It was housed initially by Flight and Robson in their office at St Martin's Lane, and then at the Adelaide Gallery on the Strand. In 1881 the organ was offered for sale in The Musical Times.

George Dawe entered the Royal Academy Schools in 1796, where he initially focussed his attention on engraving, soon turning to portraiture. In 1803 he won a gold medal and made his debut exhibiting at the Royal Academy the following year. He was elected as a Royal Academician in 1814.

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium, which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.