John Simpson (1811-71)
Princess Augusta of Cambridge (1822-1919), Hereditary Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Signed and dated 1846
Enamel | 5.0 x 4.0 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external) | RCIN 421918
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After Franz Xaver Winterhalter's portrait of 1846 (current location unknown). The original was painted as a gift for the Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz from Queen Victoria and Queen Adelaide and was thought by Queen Victoria to be 'quite beautiful & so boldly, as well as finely painted' (RA QVJ: 16 October 1846). Simpson's copy may have been taken from the original, or from an oil copy by Alexander Melville ( fl. 1846 – 86) painted for the Queen in 1846 (406676; Royal Collection).
John Simpson (1811-after 1871) was trained as a porcelain painter at the Derby porcelain factory before moving to London in 1845. He soon established a practice as a miniature painter specialising in works on enamel, and fulfilled the first of many commissions for Queen Victoria in that year. He is last recorded describing himself at the end of his career as a 'photographic artist' (1871 census return); the date of his death is not known.
Signed, dated and inscribed on the counter-enamel in yellow paint: Princess Augusta of Cambridge / Hereditary Grand Duchess / of Mecklenburg / Strelitz / Simpson / after Winterhalter / 1846Provenance
Commissioned by Queen Victoria in 1847
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Creator(s)
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Medium and techniques
Enamel
Measurements
5.0 x 4.0 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external)
6.4 x 5.5 cm (frame, external)
Other number(s)