99 - After Sir Joshua Reynolds, PRA,

After Sir Joshua Reynolds, PRA, British 1723-1792- Girl with a dead bird; oil on canvas, bears labels variously inscribed 'FROM / THE WESTMINSTER / COLLECTION', 'PRESENTED TO / DR. J.C. LORY MARSH M.D. / OF NOTTINGHAM / BY THE DUKE OF WESTMINSTER / AUG 12 1860', and 'A LARGER PAINTING / ALSO "THE DEAD BIRD" / BY JOSHUA REYNOLDS / REMAINS IN WESTMINSTER COLLECTION' attached to the stretcher bar, 43.3 x 34.4 cm. Provenance: Dr. J.C. Lory Marsh, MD, of Nottingham. Private Collection, UK. Note: The present painting is based on one of Sir Joshua Reynolds's most famous compositions, also known as 'Lesbia', executed in 1767 (Mannings 2083). It is part of a group of Reynolds's works known as 'fancy pictures': idealised compositions invented by the artist, rather than portraits faithful to reality. However, the sitter is thought to be Mrs. Theophila Gwatkin, née Palmer, the painter's great-niece and model for several of his paintings. Although Francesco Bartolozzi's 1788 print after 'The Dead Bird' contributed to the diffusion of the image in the late 18th and 19th centuries, there are few known copies, as the two authograph prime versions remained in private collections. The present lot is, thus, a relatively old and rare copy of good quality, bearing historical labels and old newspaper fragments to the back.