Portrait Of Samuel Martin, 18th Century By Allan Ramsay (1713-1784)

Portrait Of Samuel Martin, 18th Century

by ALLAN RAMSAY (1713-1784)

Large 18th Century British portrait identified as Samuel Martin, MP and Secretary to the Treasury, oil on canvas by Allan Ramsay. Excellent quality and condition of Martin wearing a navy jacket and red and gold trim waistcoat. Martin was born in Antigua to plantation owner Samuel Martin Senior. Samuel Martin Junior later became MP for Camelford, Cornwall before being appointed Secretary to the Treasury. Presented in its original antique gilt frame.

Measurements: 44" x 31.5" framed approx

Provenance:
Private Collection, South Carolina 
Private Collection, USA

Artist Biography

Allan Ramsay was the son of the celebrated Scottish poet with the same name. He studied under Hans Hayssing in London, then in Edinburgh (where he started drawing directly from nature), and finally in Rome. In 1736 he went to Italy, where he was exposed to the fashionable baroque style of the day. He worked for a time with Solimena in Naples and Imperiali in Rome before returning to London in 1739, where he quickly turned to portraiture. On his return to Edinburgh, he painted a widely-acclaimed series of portraits of Scottish nobles and landed gentry. In 1762 Ramsay was back in London, where he initiated the so-called 'grand manner' style of portraiture - a typical example is his portrait of Norman, 22nd Chief of the Clan MacLeod, posed in the manner of the ancient Greek bronze, Apollo of Belvedere. This approach, incidentally, predated by several years the portrait of Commodore Keppel painted by Sir Joshua Reynolds, which first established Reynolds' reputation.

Allan Ramsay was also influenced by the 'French manner' and his portraits reflect this more intimate approach to his subject matter. His finest portraits are those of women, among them his Lady Hervey of 1762, and Margaret Lindsay. By this time, Ramsay - although not yet officially appointed King's Painter - was specialising in royal portraits, but he made an exception in the case of his celebrated portrait of Jean-Jacques Rousseau in Armenian Dress (National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh). Lord Bute, whose portrait Ramsay had painted, presented him to the Prince of Wales, who subsequently acceded to the throne as George III. In 1767 Ramsay finally became the official court painter, replacing Shackleton. Ramsay worked with numerous assistants, including David Martin, Mrs Black, Roth, Vesperier and Philip Reinagh - consequently, he turned out a substantial number of portraits. He devoted the closing years of his life to a voluminous correspondence, with Voltaire and Rousseau among others. He painted a portrait of Rousseau for Hume. Allan Ramsay visited Italy on four separate occasions during his life. He died after returning from his final voyage there in 1784.

Allan Ramsay's work is distinguished by his excellent feel for colour, and the delicate and attenuated harmonies he achieves in his blues, pinks and muted greys. He did not pander to his subjects but strove instead to present intimate yet candid portraits of them. Although Ramsay is frequently credited with having launched portraiture in the 'grand manner', he also ranks as virtually the only 18th century British portrait painter genuinely working in the 'European manner'.
Museum and Gallery Holdings

Aberdeen (AG and Mus.): Miss Janet Shairp (1750, oil on canvas)
Bath (Holburne Mus. of Art): Portrait of John Sargent the Younger (1749, oil on canvas); Portrait of Rosamund Sargent, née Chambers (1749, oil on canvas); Portrait of John Sargent the Elder (1753, oil on canvas)
Birmingham (Mus. and AG): Portrait of Mrs Mary Martin (1761, oil on canvas)
Bordeaux (MBA): Portrait de la comtesse Elisabeth de Salisbury (1769, oil on canvas)
Cardiff (Nat. Mus. of Wales): King George III (oil on canvas); Queen Charlotte (oil on canvas)
Copenhagen (Statens Mus. for Kunst): George III of England (1765-1766, oil on canvas)
Dublin (NG of Ireland): Sir John Tyrell
Edinburgh (Nat. Gal. of Scotland): Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1776, oil on canvas, portrayed in Armenian costume); Mrs Anna Bruce of Arnot (oil on canvas); Lady Lucy Manners, Duchess of Montrose (oil on canvas); Mary Digges, Lady Robert Manners (oil on canvas)
Edinburgh (Scottish National Portrait Gallery): Anne Bayne Ramsay (Mrs Allan Ramsay) (oil on canvas, portrait of the artist's wife)
Glasgow: John, 2nd Duke of Argyll; George II; George III
London (Foundling Mus.): Portrait of Dr Richard Mead (1747, oil on canvas)
London (National Portrait Gal.): Allan Ramsay (c. 1737-1739, oil on canvas); Richard Mead (1740, oil on canvas); King George III (1761-1762, oil on canvas, studio of Allan Ramsay); Charlotte Sophia of Mecklenburg-Strelitz,, (1762, oil on canvas, studio of Allan Ramsay); Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield (1765, oil on canvas); Allan Ramsay (1776, red chalk heightened with white/buff paper)
London (Tate Collection): Portrait of Martha Baker (1739, oil on canvas); Thomas, 2nd Baron