Francis Wheatley, English, 1747-1801
Title: Portrait of Mr and Mrs Richardson
Date: 1777/1778
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions:
100 x 126 cm
Credit Line: Purchased, 1910
Object Number: NGI.617
Exhibition HistoryJapan-British Exhibition, 1910
Centenary Exhibition, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, October - December 1964
Centenary Exhibition, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, October - December 1964
Label TextWhen exhibited as an anonymous double portrait, at the Royal Academy of Arts, London, the critic of the Morning Chronicle identified the male sitter as a partner in the state lottery office Richardson, Goodluck and Company. The painting could depict either Peter or James Richardson. Wheatley portrayed the couple as well-to-do landowners, standing in a landscaped park against an elegant classical building. Richardson poses by a Windsor chair, a traditional piece of English craftsmanship.