Attributed to Sir Thomas Lawrence PRA, FRS (1769-1830)

Attributed to Sir Thomas Lawrence PRA, FRS (1769-1830)
Portrait of Charles Mayne Young (1777-1856), in the role of Hamlet
Signed with monogram TL (lower left)
Pen and ink, and watercolour
16.6 x 13.8cm; 6½ x 5½in

Provenance:
English Private Collection

The present work depicts Charles Mayne Young (1777-1856), one of the leading actors of his generation. The head in the present work is very similar to a portrait of Young by George Henry Harlow. Harlow entered Thomas Lawrence's studio in 1802 and spent eighteen months there copying the latter's work. Harlow continued to use Lawrence's distinctive poses for his own portraits in the years that followed. It was unusual for Lawrence to work in pure watercolour, and as such these works very rarely appear on the market.