Lot 92: George Dawe, RA (British, 1781-1829) Portrait of a gentleman

Portrait of a gentleman
signed, dated and inscribed on reverse 'George Dawe RA/Pinxit 1819/ St Petersberg', also inscribed by the artist with varnishing instructions on the stretcher. oil on canvas
66 x 57cm (26 x 22 7/16in).

George Dawe was born on 6 February 1781 in the London parish of St James's to Philip and Jane Dawe. Philip, who is best known for his satirical cartoons about life in America and who worked with Hogath and Turner, taught George the fundamentals of managing a career as a successful and well-paid artist. Initially training as an engraver in mezzotint, George became very accomplished from an early age and would later achieve recognition as one of the most celebrated artists of his generation.

As George's career advanced, he developed a keen eye for painting and trained at the Royal Academy to which he was elected an associate member in 1809 and an academician in 1814. Having studied anatomy and performed dissections in order to better understand the human body, George initially found form in classical subjects, for which he gained a good reputation. However the young artist was in search of a more lucrative trade and sought portrait commissions which brought him into contact with high society and greater profits. Dawe pursued this line of trade with vigour and although he met some criticism, most notably from Constable who had collaborated with Dawe on a number of works, he soon won the patronage of notable clients, including the Duke and Duchess of Kent and Princess Charlotte, for whom he produced a large portrait in 1817.

George Dawe is perhaps best known for his military portraits which brought him to the attention of Alexander I, Emperor of Russia from 1801-1825, who commissioned him to paint the portraits of senior Russian military staff who had successfully fought Napoleon in 1812. In 1819 Dawe moved to St Petersberg and became a celebrity throughout Europe mixing with Russian political and intellectual elite. Most notably he crossed paths with Pushkin, who wrote a poem about him entitled 'To Dawe Esq'. In 1826 Nicolas I invited him to his coronation ceremony and in 1828 he was officially appointed as First portrait painter of the Imperial Court.

Dawe spent nearly a decade in Russia and produced over 300 portraits of military personnel, a significant proportion of which now reside in the military gallery of the Hermitage Museum. Many of these works are also included in the Royal Collection of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth. The present lot is one such example and while the subject is unknown it was one of the first portraits Dawe undertook in St Petersburg and exhibits the genuine fresh spirit of the young man, optimistic for the future prosperity of his nation.

Dawe eventually died in 1829 after a pulmonary illness and was buried in the crypt of St Paul's Cathedral in the presence of many artists and officials from the Russian Embassy.