Lot 138: James Roberts (Oxford active 1753-c.1809)

Portrait of Mrs. Elizabeth Hartley, small full-length, in a white dress and holding a garland of white flowers in a landscape, as 'Imoinda' in Ooronoka ; Portrait of Madame Giovanna Baccelli, small full-length, in a gold and brown dress and holding a bow and arrow in a landscape, in the ballet, Les Amants Surpris oil on canvas 351/2 x 273/4 in. (90.2 x 70.5 cm.) a pair (2) ENGRAVED the first, engraved by J. Thornwaite, as a plate to Bell's British Theatre, published by G. Cawthorn, 1796. the second, engraved by J. Thornwaite, as a plate to Bell's British Theatre, 1781. LITERATURE F. O'Donoghue, Catalogue of Engraved British Portraits in the British Museum, I, London, 1908, p. 99 & II, London, 1910, p. 457. NOTES Roberts was a painter of figures in small scale in oils and watercolors, who entered the Royal Academy Schools in 1771 and was an exhibitor at the Academy between 1773-99. He practiced as a drawing master at Oxford between about 1784-94 and by 1795 he was Portrait Painter to the Duke of Clarence. He is last recorded in 1809 when he published the work, Introductory lessons... in watercolours. Elizabeth Hartley, ne‚ White (1751-1824) was an actress who was described by a contemporary source as having, 'a good figure, with a handsome small face, and very freckled; her hair red, and her neck and shoulders well-turned'. The celebrated Italian dancer, Giovanna Baccelli (d. 1801) was the principal ballerina at the King's Theatre, Haymarket, where she first appeared in 1774. She is depicted in the role and accompanying costume from the ballet Les Amants Surpris which was the great success of the 1781-82 season. Baccelli was also well-known as the mistress of John, 3rd Duke of Dorset, who commissioned a full-length portrait of her from Thomas Gainsborough in the same role (Tate Gallery, London).