Lot 122: GEORGE THEODORE BERTHON, PORTRAIT OF JAMES LANCASTER, oil on canvas, 24 ins x 18 ins; 61 cms x 45.7 cms

GEORGE THEODORE BERTHONPORTRAIT OF JAMES LANCASTERoil on canvassigned and dated 1844 24 ins x 18 ins; 61 cms x 45.7 cms Provenance:Private Collection, United KingdomNote:George Theodore Berthon was one of the first and most accomplished portrait painters in mid 19th century Canada. His father, Rene Theodore Berthon was a court painter to Napoleon Bonaparte and his artistic skills were honed in the studio of the foremost French Neoclassical master, Jacques Louis David. These painterly practises the elder Berthon passed on to his son. George Theodore furthered his study of portraiture when he emigrated from Paris to England in 1827. The majority of his fourteen year stay in London was devoted to developing a less elevated style of portrait, one that was steeped in the tradition of Sir Anthony van Dyck and culminated in the elegant 18th century portraits of Sir Joshua Reynolds, Thomas Gainsborough and Sir Thomas Lawrence. He began exhibiting portraits with the prestigious Royal Academy in 1835.The date of 1844 ascribed by the artist confirms that indeed it was executed during his stay in England. Berthon painted this full-length elegant portrait of a gentleman in riding livery with top hat in hand. While the identity of Berthon’s subject is limited in this case to a name, James Lancaster, we can deduce that his status is one of a “country gentleman”. Berthon depicts him standing comfortably in what presumably is his country estate and property. Berthon applied his European aesthetic training and his admiration of British portraiture to creating imposing portraits of the more prominent members of Canadian society. He quickly established himself as the celebrated “court painter” of Upper Canada – Ontario – where he lived and worked in Toronto for some fifty years, 1845-1891. His portraits of the city’s more prominent citizens allow us to have a visual history of the ruling Family Compact, including judges, chief justices, lieutenant governors, physicians, religious leaders and high-ranking military and naval officers. Berthon’s most important commissions were the portraits he created for the Law Society of Upper Canada – still on view at Osgoode Hall.Estimate: $10,000–12,000

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