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SMITH, John Raphael (1752-1812)
What You Will - Ce Qui Vous Plaira
London: J.R. Smith, 1 January 1791. Oval stipple engraving, printed in colours and finished by hand, by Smith. Image size (including text): 14 7/8 x 11 inches. Sheet size: 18 x 12 3/4 inches approx.
A delightfully sophisticated image of a lady dressed in the height of fashion: her steadfast amused gaze matching the title.
Smith came to London in about 1767, "'and, while still serving as a shopman, devoted his leisure to the practice of miniature-painting. He also attempted engraving, and his earliest plate, a portrait of Pascal Paoli, after Henry Bembridge, is dated 1769. He made rapid progress in this art, and soon gained a high position. Many of his plates from the works of Reynolds, Romney, and others, as well as from his own designs, are among the masterpieces of mezzotint engraving... Smith likewise carried on an extensive business as a publisher of engravings, and employed Girtin and Turner to colour prints. Desirous of himself becoming a painter, he neglected engraving when at the zenith of his fame, and turned his attention to drawing crayon portraits, which he executed with great rapidity and success... He also painted...subjects in a style resembling those of Morland and of Wheatley. His works appeared at the exhibitions of the Incorporated Society of Artists, the Free Society of Artists, and the Royal Academy between 1773 and 1805... He possessed great artistic talent, combined with a humorous and convivial temperament.." (DNB).
These examples from the collection of Sir William Augustus Fraser of Ledeclune and Moran (early armorial labels pasted onto back-boards)
Le Blanc III, p.546 no.252
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#6581 $1,750.00 
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© 2002-2005 Donald A. Heald
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