Artist's Biography
See the artist’s biography in volume 4.
Provenance
Harry Gordon Bois (1868/69–1946), London, by 1946 [1];
Purchased from his posthumous sale, A Fine Collection of Gold and Enamel Boxes, Etc. and Portrait Miniatures, Sotheby’s, London, March 27, 1947, lot 130, as A Miniature of a Man, by Asprey, London, 1947 [2];
Mr. John W. (1905–2000) and Mrs. Martha Jane (1906–2011) Starr, Kansas City, MO, by 1958;
Their gift to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1958;
Possibly retrieved by Mr. John W. and Mrs. Martha Jane Starr, by 1987 [3];
Current location unknown.
Notes
[1] See “Harry Gordon Bois,” England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858–1995: 1947, 636, digitized on Ancestrylibrary.com; “Harry G. Bois,” General Register Office: England and Wales Civil Registration Indexes, London, vol. 1a, 403.
[2] “A Miniature of a Man, by George Engleheart, head and gaze three-quarters sinister, hair en queue, wearing bright blue coat over high white cravat, plaited hair at back with enamel: Enamel miniatures originated in France before their introduction to the English court by enamellist Jean Petitot. Enamel was prized for its gloss and brilliant coloring—resembling the sheen and saturation of oil paintings—and its hardiness in contrast to the delicacy of light sensitive, water soluble miniatures painted with watercolor. Enamel miniatures were made by applying individual layers of vitreous pigment, essentially powdered glass, to a metal support, often copper but sometimes gold or silver. Each color required a separate firing in the kiln, beginning with the color that required the highest temperature; the more colors, the greater risk that the miniature would be damaged by the process. The technique was difficult to master, even by skilled practitioners, leading to its increased cost in contrast with watercolor miniatures. coat-of-arms, 2 1/4 in. See illustration, facing p. 15.” According to the attached price list, Asprey bought lot 130 for £42.
[3] As was typical with their practice, the Starrs possibly took the miniature back or swapped it for a gift of another miniature in their collection. For an example of this practice, see Henry Edridge, A Young Child.
References
A Fine Collection of Gold and Enamel Boxes, Etc. and Portrait Miniatures (London: Sotheby’s, March 27, 1947), 14, as A Miniature of a Man.
Ross E. Taggart, The Starr Collection of Miniatures in the William Rockhill Nelson Gallery (Kansas City, MO: Nelson Gallery-Atkins Museum, 1971), no. 81, p. 29, (repro.), as Unknown Man.
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