John McLure Hamilton, American 1853-1936- The New Coat; oil on panel, signed and dated 'Hamilton / 1880.' (lower right), 49 x 87.4 cm. Provenance: With Guardi Gallery (Martin Henry Colnaghi), 11 Haymarket, London.; Anon. sale, Christie's South...

John McLure Hamilton, American 1853-1936- The New Coat; oil on panel, signed and dated 'Hamilton / 1880.' (lower right), 49 x 87.4 cm. Provenance: With Guardi Gallery (Martin Henry Colnaghi), 11 Haymarket, London.; Anon. sale, Christie's South Kensington, 23 September 1987, lot 35.; Where purchased by the present owner. Note: American born Hamilton was particularly celebrated for his portraits, figure paintings and illustrations, serving as the official portraitist to the British Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone, and painting a number of other notable contemporaries. The present work represents a departure from his studies of individual sitters, depicting instead a multi-figure scene in an elegant interior. Indeed, this work appears to explore, and even parody, the act of portraiture, hinting towards the self-regard of the principal individual, literally upon a pedestal, viewing himself in the large mirror which further recalls a heroic full-length portrait.
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