A Fine Large Irish Portrait Miniature of a British Officer, Signed & Dated by Horace Hone 1789. The large oval miniature depicts a British officer dressed in a red jacket with gold buttons, gilt epaulets with gold fringe, a white lace cravat and a black high collar with a white or silver button showing below the ear. ;Above the cravat is a black neck band. The officer is facing right and his head is turned towards the viewer with an alert expression, his eyebrows slight raised. ;He wears long sideburns extending slightly onto his face and his hair is worn closely cropped. The miniature is mounted in a brass case with a blue glass back with a central oval filled with woven hair and large gilt letters "JR". Dimensions: Height: 3 7/16 inches x 2 1/8 inches wide. ;Loop on top addition 1/2 inch in height. Signature: To the lower right.are the initials: HH for Horace Hone and below 1789. Reference: The Miniature in Europe, Vol I, Leo R. Schidlof, ;page 371, writes," Horace Hone painted on ivory and enamel and also worked as an engraver. ;He usually signed: H.H, followed by the date." "Horace Hone is one of the best English miniaturists of the 18th century and some of his works equal or surpass those of Plimer and Engleheart. ;His miniatures are excellently drawn and very expressive. ;He paints partly in very distinct parallel brush strokes, using the scrapper for the wexecution of the hair. ;The light in the eyes is always placed very high and often touches the upper eyelid." Examples of his work can be found in the V & A, The National Gallery, Dublin and The David-Weill Collection, Louvres, Paris amongst others. From http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/biographies-of-irish-artists/horace-hone.htm Horace Hone (1756-1825) A member of the famous Dublin Hone family of artists, originally from Holland, Horace Hone was born in London and there received his early training in fine art from his father Nathaniel Hone the Elder (1718-84). This instruction encompassed miniature painting in watercolour on various media including enamel and even ivory. At the age of 14, he studied drawing and painting at the Royal Academy Schools, and began exhibiting his works at the Academy in 1772: a practice he continued for the next 50 years. In 1779, he was elected an Associate Member of the Academy, and three years later - at the invitation of Lady Temple, one of Hone''s patrons whose husband was the colonial ruler of Ireland - settled in Dublin. Lady Temple was herself an important member of the Anglo Irish aristocracy with widespread social connections among the ruling classes, and was instrumental in ensuring that Hone received a constant stream of portrait commissions, for which he was eminently equipped. Indeed, his portrait painting became so popular that in 1795 he was appointed to the post of Miniature Painter to the Prince of Wales. Unfortunately, the Act of Union caused many of Hone''s customers to quit Ireland and move to London in the early 1800s. Hone himself followed in 1803, and managed to re-establish himself as a miniaturist. Sadly, he had suffered for many years from mental illness, and declined rapidly in his later years. He died in London at the age of 69.

Art (paintings, prints, frames)
Figures & Portraits
Antique Portrait Miniatures