Fine Old Masters & 19th Century Paintings - 10th December 2014
Lot 7
λ AMENDED Nathaniel Plimer (1751-1822) A self portrait of the artist holding his daughter
Estimate £2,000 - £3,000 | Hammer £16000
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Description
λ AMENDED Nathaniel Plimer (1751-1822)
A self portrait of the artist holding his daughter, wearing a brown coat and striped cravat, his little daughter wearing a white smock dress fastened down her back with white ribbon ties
Oval, in a gilt frame
95 x 75mm
This charming miniature depicts the artist Nathaniel Plimer holding his young daughter, her arms wrapped lovingly around his neck. It is a very intimate and tender depiction, probably painted by Nathaniel as a family keepsake.
Nathaniel Plimer had 4 daughters, Georgina, Mary, Louisa and Adela. The youngest, Adela, married Andrew Geddes the Scottish portrait painter, who also painted an oil of Nathaniel which was sold at Christie’s Edinburgh, 27 October 2005, lot 15.
The present portrait bears strong similarities with the self-portrait holding a paint brush sold at Bonhams, London, 30 May 2013, lot 111. That portrait, which had been traditionally thought to be a portrait of Nathaniel’s younger brother Andrew, was identified as a rare self-portrait of Nathaniel Plimer. The present portrait depicts Nathaniel as a younger man than the portrait holding a paint brush, but his facial characteristics, a mole on the side of his nose and on the right cheek are clearly visible in both.
The facial features also closely resemble those found in two other known self-portraits by Nathaniel – in the collection of the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore and the other in the Clarke Collection, exhibited at Scottish National Portrait Gallery, 2001.