Lot 28: William Young Ottley (1771-1836)

Portrait of a gentleman, three-quarter-length, in a cream coat and waistcoat with gold buttons and trim, leaning against a stone plinth in a landscape
signed 'Ottley Pinx' (lower right)
oil on canvas
39 1/2 x 32 3/4 in. (100.3 x 83.2 cm.)

William Young Ottley was born near Thatcham, Berkshire in 1771, the son of a plantation owner in the West Indies. Educated at a school near Richmond, North Yorkshire, he studied drawing under the celebrated local artist George Cuitt the elder (1741-1818), from whom he learnt to appreciate an attention to detail in art. He continued his education at Winchester College before entering the Royal Academy Schools in 1787 under the tutelage of John Brown (1749-1787). On the death of Brown in 1787, Ottley purchased the contents of his studio, including 219 drawings, forming the basis of his own subsequent collections.

From 1791-99 Ottley travelled in Italy, studying, drawing as well as purchasing Old Masters. The French invasion of 1796 precipitated the sale by many prominent Italian collectors of their family treasures, before they fell victim to looting. The young collector took the opportunity of increasing his own collection, buying an important group of Parmigianino drawings in Venice and 120 drawings from the Galleria degli Uffizi in Florence. He also acquired important groups of drawings by Raphael and Michelangelo from the French artist Jean-Baptiste Wicar, superintendant of official French depradations.

The present portrait, which probably dates to the 1790s, is likely to have been painted by the young connoisseur, who was also a gifted amateur artist, during his time in Italy. It shows an assurance of handling influenced, no doubt, by such fashionable Italian artists such as Pompeo Batoni (1708-1787). In March 1799 Ottley returned to London and established himself as an influential connoisseur, writer and marchand-amateur. He was elected a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, and published numerous volumes on art, beginning with The Italian School of Design, 1808, a series of facsimile prints engraved, many by himself, after drawings in his own collection.

In 1826 Ottley completed A Descriptive Catalogue of Pictures in the National Gallery, a commission obtained through Sir Thomas Lawrence, who only three years before had purchased his 'entire cabinet' of drawings for £8,000. In 1833, Ottley was invited to become the Keeper of Prints and Drawings at the British Museum. He died only three years later, and his own remarkable art collection was dispersed through numerous private sales as well as auctions at Christie's and Sotheby's.

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.