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Captain Baker

Pastel
1787 (made)
Artist/Maker
Lawrence, Thomas PRA (Sir) (artist)
Place of origin
Britain (made)

Oval pastel portrait of Captain Baker.

Object details

Categories
Drawings
Portraits
Object type
Pastel
TitleCaptain Baker (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Pastel
Pastel
Drawing
Brief description
Pastel portrait by Sir Thomas Lawrence of Captain Baker, 1787.
Physical description
Oval pastel portrait of Captain Baker.
Dimensions
  • Height: 32.4cm
  • Width: 27.3cm
DIMENSIONS Dimensions taken from Victoria & Albert Museum Department of Prints and Drawings and Department of Paintings, Accessions 1963. London: HMSO, 1964.
Style
British School
Marks and inscriptions
'To be kept from the sun and Damp, T. Lawrence pinxt 1787.'

Note
Inscribed on backing paper
Gallery label
Pastel is effectively a method of painting in dry colours. Pastels are made by mixing pure powdered pigments with just enough gum or resin to bind them into sticks. Unlike other methods of painting no medium or vehicle such as oil or water is used to apply the pigment to the paper. In all other forms of painting the colour as applied is different from the colour when dry. But with pastel the artist knows at any given time what effect he is achieving.

Pastel probably came to be thought of as 'painting' rather than 'drawing', because the colours are applied in masses rather than in lines and are blended. The image is built up using a series of tones added layer by layer with the brightest colours and highlights added last.
Credit line
Bequeathed by Mrs M. V. Cunliffe
Object history
This pastel was formerly in the collections of Lady Gardiner, Tackley Park; Julian M. James, The Friargate, Aylesbury (1880); sold at Christie’s 21 July 1916 (Lot 16). See ‘A Catalogue of the paintings, drawings and pastels of Sir Thomas Lawrence’ by Kenneth Garlick in Walpole Society, Volume 39, 1964, page 258.
Historical context
This drawing was made in 1787, the year in which Lawrence moved from Bath to London and began at the Royal Academy Schools.
Bibliographic reference
Victoria and Albert Museum Department of Prints and Drawings and Department of Paintings, Accessions 1963 . London: HMSO, 1964.
Collection
Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection
Accession number
P.7-1963

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Record createdDecember 14, 2000
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O50522/captain-baker-pastel-lawrence-thomas-pra/
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