Portrait of a Man, Seated in Front of a Writing Desk

Henry Edridge|Henry Duncombe

1795–1800 · Watercolor over graphite with touches of gouache (bodycolor) · Drawings and Prints

In the 1790s Edridge was a proponent of a new type of small-scale full-length portrait drawn in graphite and finished using ink and watercolor washes. This striking example depicts a country gentleman at work in his study; the artist emphasized his bookcase by adding a strip of paper at the top. A small vase near the sitter’s shoulder suggests his love of the outdoors, a rough caricature on the wall introduces a note of humor, and a collapsed hanging scale at upper left hints at the practicalities of running a country estate. An old inscription on the verso of the sheet identifies the sitter as Henry Duncombe (1728–1818), a Yorkshire gentleman who entered Parliament in 1780, voted with the Opposition, and supported the reform efforts of William Pitt the younger

Artist

Henry Edridge|Henry Duncombe

Date

1795–1800

Medium

Watercolor over graphite with touches of gouache (bodycolor)

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1965