William Egley Miniature Portrait c1839
Directory: Fine Art: Paintings: Miniatures: Pre 1900: Item # 1372197
Please refer to our stock # a1648 when inquiring.
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A beautiful miniature portrait of a young man, done by William Egley. The painting is in a stickpin mounted elaborate gold case, with engraving on the reverse identifying the sitter as "John McDonnell Webb/August 1839". A plait of hair is in the glazed rear aperture.
Both the painting and case are in excellent condition, with no issues. The spots in the photos are due to external dust. Sight size is 1 5/8" by 1 1/4", with an overall size of 2" by 1 5/8".
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE: William Egley (1798–1870), was born in Doncaster, England, and moved shortly after to Nottingham. Originally working in a publishing house and bookshop, he had developed an interest in painting and, without any professional teaching, he succeeded in finishing two pictures, the portraits of Colonel Ogleby and of Richard Yates, the actor, which were received and exhibited by the Royal Academy in 1824. From that time until 1869 he was a constant exhibitor, sending, in all, over 100 miniatures to the Academy exhibitions, two pictures to the British Institution, and 6 to the Suffolk Street Gallery. He was twice married, and by his first wife left a son, William Maw Egley, a painter of historical subjects and a regular exhibitor.
Egley was very successful in portraying children, and always in high demand. His works are in the collections of many museums.
