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Attributed to the Studio of Sir Joshua Reynolds, PRA, FRS, FRSA (British, 1723-1792)Portrait of Sir Abraham Hume, 2nd Bt (1749-1838) half length, wearing a red coat oil on canvas 68 x 56cmFootnote: Provenance: East Anglian Private Collection, since before 1993 Literature: D Mannings and M Postle, Sir Joshua Reynolds: A Complete Catalogue of his Paintings, 2000, presumably no. 964c listed as "Private Collection, with Sotheby's, Edinburgh 1993. Good early copy." The sitter, by his marriage to Lady Amelia Egerton, sole heiress to her brother the 8th and last Earl of Bridgewater, inherited Ashridge Park with its fabulous collection of paintings formed by the Earls and Dukes of Bridgewater. With enormous financial resources at his disposal, Hume augmented the collection, adding perhaps most famously, Aelbert Cuyp’s "The Maas at Dordrecht", known as the “Large Dort”, now one of the greatest treasures of the National Gallery of Art in Washington. The present painting is a period copy or possibly a studio repetition after the prime original by Reynolds dated to circa 1783, now at Belton House, Lincolnshire, as the sitter's daughter Sophia married the 1st Earl Brownlow. In his catalogue raisonné Mannings lists four copies, of which the present painting is one (see Literature). Reynolds' studio ledgers of January 1788 and April 1788 record two studio repetitions, the former for a “Miss Hume” and the latter for a "Mr Home" (2 payments: April 1788 and May 1790) both presumably relations of the sitter. It is therefore a reasonable proposition that the present painting due to its fine quality could be considered a contender for one of these studio versions.Condition report:Oil on canvas which has been lined. The canvas has good tension and the picture is in plane. The original tacking edges appear to have preserved during the lining process. The paint layer has areas of raised and lifting paint following age cracks, in the sitter’s face and surrounding background. There is some wear and abrasion to the paint layer. Old retouchings have discoloured, notably in the face they have become pale over time. The varnish is yellowed and dull with opaque hazing forming across the darker areas. There is a layer of surface dust present. The frame has some losses to the decorative moulding. Splits have formed in the flat section of the slip following joins in the wooden structure.76 x 63.5cm canvas size 80 x 93.5cm framed
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