Attributed to Robert Fagan, Anglo-Irish, 1761-1816
Title: Portrait of Sir George Wright, 2nd Baronet (c.1770-1812)
Date: c.1791-1792
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions:
213 x 145 cm
Credit Line: Purchased, 1973
Object Number: NGI.4061
Exhibition HistoryAspects of Irish Art, a Loan Exhibition; Columbus Gallery of Fine Arts, Columbus, Ohio, 27 January - 3 March 1974; Toledo Museum of Arts, Toledo, Ohio, 17 March - 14 April 1974; St Louis Art Museum, St Louis, Missouri, 3 May - 9 June 1974
Label TextThough London-born, Fagan is generally regarded as Irish by association. His father’s family was from Cork, his contemporaries considered him Irish, and his works included a portrait of Margaret Simpson as Hibernia. Fagan settled in Italy in 1783, establishing himself as portrait painter, dealer, archaeologist and diplomat. Most of his sitters belonged to an elite expatriate community in Italy, or, like Sir George Wright, were Grand Tourists. Wright's interest in Roman antiquity is indicated by the fact that he points with his right hand towards the Colosseum, visible in capriccio form in the background.