| Method | Mezzotint |
| Artist | Valentine Green after Edward Francis Cunningham |
| Published | E.F. Calze pinxit. Val. Green fecit. Publish'd July 22, 1771. by J. Boydell, Cheapside. |
| Dimensions | Image 370 x 290 mm, Plate 405 x 290 mm, Sheet 415 x 305 mm |
| Notes |
A proof impression of this mezzotint portrait of Miss Kitty Hunter, with artists names and publication line in scratched letters, engraved by Valentine Green after the portrait by Edward Francis 'Calze' Cunningham. Miss Hunter is shown half length, seated at a desk with a book, notepapers, and a quill and inkpot. She wears a fur-lined, long-sleeved dress, pearl earrings, and her hair is also braided with pearls. Elizabeth Catherine Hunter (c.1740-1795) was an English noblewoman and socialite. The daughter of Thomas Orby Hunter, MP and Lord of the Admiralty, she was part of one of the great scandals of the era when she eloped to Italy in 1762 with the 10th Earl of Pembroke. Following the Earl's return to his wife, Elizabeth Herbert, the following year, she returned to England and became the mistress of Augustus Hervey, the future 3rd Earl of Bristol. In 1771 she married the British Army Captain Alured Clarke, whose appointments included Governor of Jamaica, Governor of Lower Canada, and Governor General of India. Valentine Green (1739-1813) was a British mezzotinter; Associate Royal Academician and publisher, often in association with his son Rupert. In 1773 he was appointed mezzotint engraver to the King George III and in 1774 he became a member of the Royal Academy. In 1775, he was appointed mezzotint engraver to Karl Theodor, Elector Palatine, and in 1789, he worked on the engraving and publishing of pictures in the Düsseldorf Gallery. Green was one of the first engravers to show how admirably mezzotint could be applied to the translation of pictorial compositions as well as portraits. His engravings are distinguished by exceptional richness, subtlety of tone, and a deft handling of light and shade. Edward Francis Cunningham (c.1742-1795) was a Scottish painter and portraitist. His father was implicated in the Jacobite Rising of 1745 and was forced to flee with the family to Italy, where Edward studied painting in Parma, Rome, and Venice. During this time he adopted the alias 'Calze,' perhaps an Italianised form of his native Kelso. After moving to Paris, he received his inheritance from the family estates, but due to his libertine lifestyle was forced to follow the Duchess of Kingston to Russia, before moving to Berlin, and finally returning to London where he died in poverty. Chaloner Smith 71 unrecorded state, Russell 71 i/ii, Whitman ii/iii, O'Donoghue 1 Ex. Col.: Walter Francis Tiffin. Collector's mark on verso (Lugt: L.1051). Condition: Trimmed to platemark along bottom edge. Very minor abrasions to plate, but otherwise a fine dark impression with scratched publication lines. |
| Framing | unmounted |
| Price | £450.00 |
| Stock ID | 50861 |