HUGH DOUGLAS HAMILTON (1740-1808)

Portrait of a young gentleman

Pastel on paper (23.5 x 20 cm)

Location unknown

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Hamilton was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1740, the son of a wig-maker. Unfortunately, there is not much documented evidence about his early years. He studied art under Robert West at the Royal Dublin Society. and won early success with his pastel and crayon portraits. His politeness and good manners earned him valuable commissions. Very little is known about Hamilton between the years 1756 and 1764 when he lived in London. He was very successful with his pastel portraits and was much in demand; he even portrayed the members of the Royal family. He showed with the Society of Artists from the mid-1760’s to the mid-1770’s.

In 1779 he travelled to Italy where he remained for the next twelve years, visiting Florence several times but based in Rome where he met the sculptor Canova to whom he portrayed. On the advice of John Flaxman, he started to paint in oils where he achieved modest success; his sitters were mostly British or Irish visitors on their Grand Tour. His portraits of this period include George 2nd Earl Spencer, Countess Cowper, Dean Kirwan and the Old Pretender, Prince Charles Edward Stuart. In 1791 he returned to Dublin where he died aged 68.

The identity of this young gentleman is unknown. The portrait was sold by Sotheby’s in 2007 and apparently is in a private collection.