William Hogarth (1697-1764)

William Hogarth (1697-1764) Head studies of a lady and her son, circa 1730 oil on canvas 10.5 x 8cm

Provenance: (Presumably) William Benoni White (1803-c.1878), Holborn, London. John Postle Heseltine (1843-1929) by 1906. Anon. sale, Sotheby's, London, 27th-29th May 1935, lot 315, as 'W. Hogarth, Portrait of a Lady and a Boy, from the Benoni White Collection, with two drawings by other hands', £22 to Turner. Anon. sale, Sotheby's, London, 15th July 1998, lot 45, £19,500 to Agnew. Private collection, Scotland, by 2004. With Agnew's Gallery, London, 2008, Thereafter acquired by the present owner

Literature: Elizabeth Einberg, William Hogarth: A Complete Catalogue of the Paintings, New Haven, CT and London, 2016, p. 70, no. 32 Exhibited: London, Whitechapel Gallery, 1906, no. 18, as 'Woman and Child...a tiny monochrome painting in oils', lent by J P Heseltine; London, Agnew's Gallery, 2008, n.n. The present study is believed to be a fragment from an unfinished family group or a conversation piece which may have included more figures. The technique suggests a relatively early date of circa 1730 when Hogarth was in such great demand as a painter of conversation pieces that he made a list (as of January 1731) of unfinished commissions dating back to 1728 (see Einberg, p. 70). A similar small-scale study in oil, 8 x 6.4cm, also sketched on a buff ground, which depicts two gentlemen in conversation, may have formed part of the same canvas (see Einberg, p. 70, no. 31).

Small oil on canvas which has been lined. The outer edges of the canvas are unpainted and it is unclear if this is the original or lining canvas which is visible. The canvas and paint layers are in a good, stable condition overall. There are minor areas of retouching, mainly around the edges of the canvas. The varnish is clear, even and glossy.