Lot 181: Portrait of a brother and sister, full-length, she in a white dress, pink coat and pearl necklace, writing a letter, he in a black suit, seated by a plinth, in a garden

Henry William Pickersgill, R.A. (London 1782-1875)
Portrait of a brother and sister, full-length, she in a white dress, pink coat and pearl necklace, writing a letter, he in a black suit, seated by a plinth, in a garden
oil on canvas
58¾ x 47 in. (149.3 x 119.5 cm.)
with an old partially legible hand-written label 'Portrait of....O[...], at the... Pickersgille [?] £100...and brought out to the... Polkingtens [?] in Culcutta [stet.], in September 1822./...there, till my banishment in/...1823. Then we brought the picture here with us J.J. [Barklay/Butter...?] Private Property of the [Barklay/Butter...?]...' (attached to the stretcher)

Henry William Pickersgill specialised in portraiture. He was elected as a Royal Academician in 1826, and in the following years established a reputation as a leading society portrait painter.