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Nathaniel Hone the Elder
, Irish, 1718-1784
Title
A Piping Boy: John Camillus Hone (1759-1836), the Artist's SonDate1769
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions
36.8 x 32 cm
SignedNHone, 1769 [NH in ligature]
Credit LinePurchased, 1896
Object numberNGI.440
ProvenanceHeywood; Heywood-Hawkins; E. H. T. Hawkins; purchased, Christie's, 25 April 1896, E. H. T. Hawkins Sale, lot 36
Exhibition HistoryRoyal Academy of Arts, London, 1769
British Institution, London, 1817
British Institution, London, 1844
Leeds, 1868
Exhibition of Works by Irish Painters, Corporation of London Art Gallery, Guildhall, London, 1904
Pictures by Members of Royal Academy During First 100 Years, Royal Academy of Arts, London, Winter 1951-1952
Centenary Exhibition, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, October - December 1964
Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1969
Aspects 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 TextHone included this tender study in his solo exhibition – the first of its kind – in London in 1775. The subject, an angelic young boy playing a recorder, is the artist's son John Camillus. Hone, a portrait specialist, displays typical virtuosity in the handling of light and texture, describing expertly the softness of the child’s features and pallor of his skin, and rendering the fur cloak or skin with remarkable skill. Hone broadened the appeal of a family portrait by indulging a prevailing interest in pastoral imagery.
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