Lot 60: James Millar (fl.1763-1805)

Portrait of a gentleman, full-length, in a green coat, holding a gun, two dogs and a partridge at his feet, in a wooded landscape
signed and dated 'Ja:s Millar pinx.t/1790' (centre left)
oil on canvas
93 3/4 x 57 3/4 in. (146.7 x 238.2 cm.)

E. Waterhouse, The Dictionary of British 18th Century Painters, Suffolk, 1981, p.240, illustrated.

Gerald Freeman; Christie's, London, 3 February 1950, lot 122.
Anon. sale; Christie's, London, 24 November 1972, lot 12 (sold £525).

James Millar was born in Birmingham, and is recorded in the Poor Law Levy Books of 1763. From this inauspicious start, he became the most successful portrait painter in Birmingham in the latter quarter of the eighteenth century. He exhibited at the Royal Academy between 1784 and 1790. The Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery houses six portraits by the artist.

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.