Lot 1661
RICHARD CROSSE (1742-1810)
PORTRAITS OF THE ARTIST'S PARENTS, JOHN AND MARY CROSSE, OF KNOWLE, CULLOMPTON, DEVON
A pair, he depicted standing, long half length, wearing a dark green coat and waistcoat, a hat under his left arm; she seated three quarter length, wearing a silver-grey dress and black lace shawl, a dog in her lap, each oil on canvas
Each 118 x 98cm. (2)
Provenance: W. W. R. Crosse-Crosse Esq (sic); London, Sothebys, November 22nd, 1961, The Property of Lt. Col. R. Crosse-Upcott, lots 190 and 191 (unsold); by whom gifted to his neighbour, Anthony Shrubb Esq, a noted collector of Crosse's miniatures; bequeathed by his widow, Mrs Shrubb, to the vendor in 2014
Illustrated: Ellis Waterhouse, The Dictionary of British 18th Century Painters, Woodbridge, 1981, p.95 (image of John Crosse)
Literature: The Walpole Society, Vo. XV11, 1929, Basil Long, `Richard Crosse: Miniaturist and Portrait Painter` (wherein reference is made to these portraits and to six other oils of family members)
* Crosse was the second of seven children. His father, a lawyer in Devon, encouraged his son to pursue painting and Richard proved to be a precocious talent. His undoubted forte was miniature painting and Waterhouse notes that he painted only ` a few very competent oil portraits of his own family` in a style `not unlike the earlier work of Reynolds`.
