SwissArtGallery · Documented identity
The British portraitist John Downman was born around 1750 and died in 1824. He trained with Benjamin West. After visiting Italy between 1773 and 1775, he worked in Cambridge and then London. His patrons included the royal family and the aristocracy. He developed a coloured chalk technique that enabled him to produce several versions of a portrait rapidly, often on a small scale and in profile.
His 1777 portrait of Benjamin West in the National Portrait Gallery is, however, painted in oil on copper. It recalls the relationship between Downman and his former teacher. The 1796 study of Miss Currie at the British Museum combines charcoal with touches of red chalk. Preserved within an album of first sketches, it records his attention to the initial capture of a face.
This profile brings together identity references for John Downman and paintings, drawings and works on paper documented in auction catalogues.
DognyAuction
References include catalogue entries and available results; they do not all represent completed sales.
Pencil on paper
Portrait of Lady Charlotte Maria Waldegrave
crayon sur papier
Date to be documented
Catalogue reference — sale not confirmed
Estimate : CHF 300–400
View the lot at the auction house ↗These references are shown separately because of their attribution or lot composition. Each record states the reason.
Pencil on paper
Profil de jeune femme
crayon sur papier
Attribution ou qualification signalée dans le catalogue
Catalogue period : 2019-10-09
Attribution recorded in catalogue
Catalogue reference — sale not confirmed
Estimate : CHF 500–1000
View the lot at the auction house ↗SwissArtGallery documentary note based on the cited sources. Titles, media and qualifications are provided in the profile language; the original catalogue wording remains available in each record.
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