Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 14

Portrait of a Lady with a Blue Bow - British 18thC art Old Master oil painting

Circa 1780

About the Item

This superb British 18th century Old Master portrait oil painting is attributed to Matthew William Peters. Painted circa 1780 it is a fine half length portrait of a woman gazing to her left. She has a lovely blue bow and sash on her dress. The sympathetic detail in her face is sublime. A really wonderful 18th century Old Master portrait. Matthew William Peters was known for his late 18th century portraits which had both the influence of Sir Joshua Reynolds and Thomas Gainsborough. Provenance. Lincolnshire estate. Condition. Oil on canvas 30 inches by 25 inches unframed and in good condition. Has has restoration. Frame. Housed in an ornate gilt carved swept period frame, 40 inches by 35 inches framed and in good condition. Matthew William Peters (1742-1814) was an English portrait and genre painter who later became an Anglican clergyman and chaplain to George IV. He became known as "William" when he started signing his works as "W. Peters". Peters was born in Freshwater, Isle of Wight, the son of Matthew Peters (born at Belfast, 1711), a civil engineer and member of the Royal Dublin Society; by Elizabeth, the eldest daughter of George Younge of Dublin. The family moved from England to Dublin when Peters was young. Peters received his artistic training from Robert West in Dublin; in 1756 and 1758 he received prizes from the first School of Design in Dublin. In 1759, he was sent by the Dublin Society to London to become a student of Thomas Hudson and won a premium from the Society of Arts. The group also paid for him to travel to Italy to study art from 1761 to 1765. On 23 September 1762 he was elected to the Accademia del Disegno in Florence. Peters returned to England in 1765 and exhibited works at the Society of Artists from 1766 to 1769. Beginning in 1769, Peters exhibited works at the Royal Academy. In 1771 he was elected an associate and in 1777 an academician. He returned to Italy in 1771 and stayed until 1775. He also probably traveled to Paris in 1783–84, where he met Léopold Boilly, Antoine Vestier, and was influenced by the work of Jean-Baptiste Greuze. On 27 February 1769, Peters became a freemason, and he was made the grand portrait painter of the Freemasons and the first provincial grand master of Lincolnshire in 1792. In 1785, he exhibited portraits of the Duke of Manchester and Lord Petre as Grand Master at the Royal Academy exhibition. According to Robin Simon's article in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, no British contemporary had such an Italian manner of painting as Peters, reflecting the old masters he copied. Many of Peters' works were erotic and although these works did not damage his career, according to Simon, Peters later regretted these when he became an ordained clergyman in 1781. He served as the Royal Academy's chaplain from 1784 to 1788, at which time he resigned to become chaplain to the Prince of Wales. In 1784, Peters was awarded the living of Scalford, Leicestershire by Charles Manners, 4th Duke of Rutland. In 1788, the Dowager Duchess gave him the living at Knipton, at which time he also obtained that at Woolsthorpe. These livings were near to Belvoir Castle, at which he was curator of pictures. He became prebendary of Lincoln Cathedral in 1795, first with the stall of St Mary, Crackpool, but later with the better position of Langford Ecclesia, Oxfordshire. That same year he also acquired the living at Eaton. He lived at Woolsthorpe, Knipton, and Langford. After 1800, Masonic disputes forced Peters to live almost exclusively at Langford. During these years, Peters also painted religious works, including a ten-by-five foot Annunciation for Lincoln Cathedral and The Resurrection of a Pious Family. He also painted five Shakespearean works for the Boydell Shakespeare Gallery and six for the Irish Shakespeare Gallery. He charged 80 guineas for painting full-length portraits. On 28 April 1790 he and Margaret Susannah Knowsley were married; the couple had five children. Peters died in Kent on 20 March 1814.
  • Attributed to:
    Matthew William Peters (1742 - 1814, British)
  • Creation Year:
    Circa 1780
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 40 in (101.6 cm)Width: 35 in (88.9 cm)Depth: 2 in (5.08 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    London, GB
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU853113397902
More From This SellerView All
  • Portrait of Lady in Silver Dress - Dutch Old Master art portrait oil painting
    By Willem Wissing
    Located in London, GB
    This lovely Dutch Old Master portrait oil painting is attributed to circle of Willem Wissing. Wissing settled in England and emerged as Peter Lely's most important pupil after his de...
    Category

    17th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

    Materials

    Oil

  • Italian Greyhound and Friends - Italian 17thC Old Master dog art oil painting
    By Francesco Fieravino
    Located in London, GB
    This stunning Old Master 17th century oil portrait painting is attributed to Francesco Fieravino, an artist famous in his day for still lifes and carpets. This painting which dates t...
    Category

    17th Century Old Masters Animal Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

  • Portrait of a Young Gentleman - Dutch Old Master 17thC art portrait oil painting
    Located in London, GB
    This superb Dutch Old Master portrait oil painting is attributed as by a follower of Dutch 17th century artist Gerrard van Honthorst. The original of this painting hangs in Wilton House, Wiltshire, home to the 18th Earl and Countess of Pembrokeshire. The painting was previously attributed to Van Dyck by early cataloguers, but after exhaustive comparisons with the two Honthorst brothers' works, it was concluded that Gerrard van Honthorst was the artist who painted the original in Wilton House. Our painting was painted circa 1695 by a follower of Gerrard Honthorst. It was sold to us as circle of Cornelius Johnson. The sitter is Prince Rupert of the Rhine, Duke of Cumberland, Earl of Holderness (1619-1682). He was an English army officer, admiral, scientist, and colonial governor. He first came to prominence as a Royalist cavalry commander during the English Civil War. Rupert was the third son of the German...
    Category

    1650s Old Masters Portrait Paintings

    Materials

    Oil

  • Lady Eleanor Dundas - Old Master 18C Scottish art oil painting female portrait
    By Henry Raeburn (circle)
    Located in London, GB
    A fine large and stunning Scottish Old Master portrait oil painting on canvas portrait in good condition which depicts Lady Eleanor Dundas in a white dress set against an open landsc...
    Category

    19th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

    Materials

    Oil

  • Portrait of Major General James Hanson Salmond - British 18thC art oil painting
    By Sir Thomas Lawrence
    Located in London, GB
    This superb British Old Master oil painting is attributed to circle of Sir Thomas Lawrence. Painted circa 1795, the sitter is Major-General James Hanson Salmond (1766–1837) an office...
    Category

    1790s Old Masters Portrait Paintings

    Materials

    Oil

  • Portrait of a Lady by Fountain in Landscape - Dutch Old Master art oil painting
    By Nicolaes Maes
    Located in London, GB
    This superb Dutch Old Master portrait oil painting is attributed to circle of Nicolaes Maes. Painted circa 1670, the painting is of a lady, sat by a classical fountain with statue an...
    Category

    1670s Old Masters Portrait Paintings

    Materials

    Oil

You May Also Like
  • 19th century English portrait of a White/grey hunter in a stable
    By Charles Towne
    Located in Woodbury, CT
    English 19th century portrait of a White / Grey hunter in a stable. Charles Towne was born in Wigan in 1763. He was trained as a coach painter, and by ...
    Category

    1820s Old Masters Animal Paintings

    Materials

    Oil, Canvas

  • Portrait of a Lady, Katherine St Aubyn, Godolphin, Cornelius Johnson, Oil canvas
    By Cornelius Johnson
    Located in London, GB
    Titan Fine Art are pleased to present this charming bust-length portrait, which is a good example of the style of portrait painted in England in the second quarter of the seventeenth century. The attire consists of the finest silks, and the full billowing sleeves, bows, and hairstyle help in dating this portrait to circa 1637. The accessory par excellence – pearls – are worn as a necklace and were a very popular accessory. The artist makes no attempt to obey the rules of Baroque and instead sensitively depicts in complete honesty his sitter against a plain wall, and without distracting backdrops and flowing draperies – this work is very redolent of the sumptuous half-length female portraits that Cornelius Johnson...
    Category

    17th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Cotton Canvas, Oil

  • Portrait Of Thomas Smythe (1514-1577) School of Hans HOLBEIN (1497-1543)
    By Hans Holbein
    Located in Blackwater, GB
    Portrait Of Thomas Smythe (1514-1577), 16th Century School of Hans HOLBEIN (1497-1543) Fine huge 16th Century English Old Master portrait of Sir Thomas...
    Category

    16th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

    Materials

    Oil

  • William Wissing (follower) 19th Century Portrait Queen Mary II
    Located in York, GB
    A 19th century oil on canvas, portrait of a young woman.This portrait is believed to be of Queen Mary II taken from an engraving of the painting, Halswell Park Sale, 1948, lot no.1323, Housed in a decorative gilt frame.Size overall being 70 x 86 cm high (27.5 x 33¾ inches approx) size of painting 54 x 68 cm (21 x 26 inches approx) To the rear of the portrait is a newspaper cutting of the engraving ,also a typed note regarding the provenance of the painting (see photo) Condition overall is very good, the Canvas has been relined, under UV there are areas of overpaint to bosom.Frame overall very good some minor self coloured losses Mary II (30 April 1662 – 28 December 1694) Mary, born at St James's Palace in London on 30 April 1662,eldest daughter of James, Duke of York (the future James II & VII) , and his first wife, Anne Hyde. Mary's uncle was King Charles II, her maternal grandfather, Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon, served for a lengthy period as Charles's chief adviser. Mary married William of Orange. Willem Wissing, known in England as William Wissing...
    Category

    19th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

    Materials

    Oil

  • Nathaniel Hone, portrait of "flora" roman goddess, 18th century
    By Nathaniel Hone the Elder
    Located in York, GB
    I have great pleasure in offering for sale this beautiful portrait, by Nathaniel Hone, the elder. 18th century. The painting is of Ann Anderson, wife...
    Category

    18th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

    Materials

    Oil

  • 19th Century Portrait, Child At Play , Attributed To Henry Tanworth Wells
    Located in York, GB
    19th century portrait, child at play ,Attributed to Henry Tanworth Wells A beautiful oval portrait of a young child at play, attributed to the portrait painter Henry Tanworth Wells. finely executed, this oil on canvas is in excellent condition. Housed in a period frame. The size overall is 79 cm x 62 cm whilst the painting is 56 cm x 46 cm Henry Tanworth Wells [1828-1903] Henry Tanworth Wells RA was an English miniature and portrait painter. He was a member of the Pre-Raphaelite circle though he painted in the academic style. His most popular painting...
    Category

    19th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

    Materials

    Oil

Recently Viewed

View All