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Portrait of Captain Edward Knowles, R.N. (1742-1762)

ArtistEnglish, 1726–1770
CultureEnglish
Titles
  • Portrait of Captain Edward Knowles, R.N. (1742-1762)
Datec. 1762
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsCanvas or panel: 50 × 39 3/4 × 15/16 in. (127 × 101 × 2.4 cm)
Frame (outer): 58 × 47 11/16 × 2 15/16 in. (147.3 × 121.1 × 7.5 cm)
Credit LineThe Rienzi Collection, museum purchase funded by the Rienzi Society
Object number2013.19
Current Location
Rienzi
Foyer
Exposé

Explore Further

Department
Rienzi
Object Type
Provenance[Spink and Son, London, 1931]; Spencer Bickerton, New York, 1932; [M. Harris and Sons, London]; William Goadby Loew, New York, 1932-1956; [Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, April 27, 1956, as a Portrait of Captain Charles Knowles, lot 320]; P. Bader, 1956-c.1960; Joseph A. Patrick, Old Westbury, New York, c. 1960-2011; [Sotheby's New York, June 9, 2011, lot 112]; [Adam Williams Fine Art, New York, June 2011- October 2012]; purchased by MFAH, 2013.
Published References • The Naval Chronicle: containing a general and biographical history of the royal navy of the United Kingdom with a variety of original papers on nautical subjects. (London: J. Gold, 1799): 97. The story of Captain Edward Knowles’s naval career appears as a footnote in a biographical chapter on his father, Sir Charles Knowles, Bart., in The Naval Chronicle, published in London in 1799. The portrait is referenced in this text, noting that it was painted by Cotes using a “profile shade,” or, silhouette: “A portrait of this gentleman was painted by the late Sir Coates, from a profile shade, and the description given by his father.” • Edward Mead Johnson, Francis Cotes: Complete Edition with a Critical Essay and a Catalogue (Oxford: Phaidon, 1976), 63. The most recent catalog of the work of Francis Cotes was published in 1976; Captain Edward Knowles, R.N. is listed in the publication as “present whereabouts unknown”. A description of the painting is followed by the note that the painting is, “in the style Cotes used between c. 1758 and c. 1762.” • Art News, Vol. 29, no. 19, 7 February 1931, p. 19. • Exhibited at London, International Art Galleries, January 1931, no. 146. Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
Verso, handwritten in black: X320
Verso of frame, identification card of the frame-maker: Samuel Jennings, Carver, Gilder, and Printseller 15 Duke Street, Manchester Square.
Verso of frame, sticker: MARTINSPEED LIMITED / 7 GLASSHOUSE WALK, SE11 / Telephone 020-7735 0566; REF. 600 (handwritten); X MORETTI FINE ART LTD. / FRANCES COATES / 5.4.12. (handwritten)
Verso, sticker: EMOP/ barcode / 628SX / Francis Cotes, portrait of Knowles / NOP 1
Verso, sticker: Name / [....]

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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