Sir Thomas Lawrence RA “Innocent” Colored Mezzotint

Sir Thomas Lawrence RA (April 13, 1769 — January 7, 1830) was a notable English painter, mostly of portraits.

He was born in Bristol. His father was an innkeeper, first at Bristol and afterwards at Devizes, and at the age of six Lawrence was already being shown off to the guests of the Bear as an infant prodigy who could sketch their likenesses and declaim speeches from Milton. In 1779 the elder Lawrence had to leave Devizes, having failed in business and Thomas’s precocious talent began to be the main source of the family’s income; he had gained a reputation along the Bath road. His debut as a crayon portrait painter was made at Oxford, where he was well patronized, and in 1782 the family settled in Bath, where the young artist soon found himself fully employed in taking crayon likenesses of fashionable people at a guinea or a guinea and a half a head. In 1784 he gained the prize and silver-gilt palette of the Society of Arts for a crayon drawing after Raphael’s "Transfiguration," and presently beginning to paint in oil.

Sir Thomas Lawrence R. A. (Royal Academy ) “Innocence” first painted in the 19th century and later engraved by Georges P. James. Published in a rare and limited edition of Color Mezzotint Engraving in London, 1920.

This treasure measures 11 by 14 inches approximate and in good condition. Little discoloration on verso with a light spot of foxing and outer edge of the mezzo tinted image and a light crease in the engraved area, not visible on the front side of the art work. Pencil signed by the engraver.

Georges P. James was among a handful of mezzotint engravers of the earlier 20 Century mezzotint engravers and was considered among one of the best of the period.

Art (paintings, prints, frames)
Engravings