Lot 47: George Francis Joseph, A.R.A.

George Francis Joseph, A.R.A.
1764-1846
portrait of spencer perceval (1762-1812)
half length, wearing a dark blue coat and white stock
oil on canvas
60 by 50 cm., 23 1/2 by 19 3/4 in.
Spencer Perceval was Prime Minister from 1809 until his assassination in the lobby of the House of Commons on 11th May 1812. His appearance was described by Denis Gray in Spencer Perceval, The Evangelical Prime Minister, 1963 (p.15), as 'humanly pale and only emphasised it by habitually dressing in black'. Almost all portraits of him are based upon the very successful death mask made by Nollekens soon after his death. Nollekens was commissioned to make at least fifteen busts at 150 guineas each, the shoulders modelled from a Chelsea Pensioner.
Two further portraits of him by George Francis Joseph are in the National Portrait Gallery and another at Apsley House.