James SharplesES (1751-1811) - A Portrait of a lady and a portrait of a gentleman

Portrait of a lady and a portrait of a gentleman. A fine pair of paintings on paper attributed to the celebrated Anglo-Amercan artist James Sharples (1751/1752 -1811)

James Sharples (1751/1752 -1811) was an English portrait painter and pastelist, who moved to the United States in 1794. He first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1779. Sharples first intended to enter the Catholic priesthood, but became an artist instead. He was the head of a family of successful portrait artists, including his third wife Ellen.

Before his marriage James Sharples was active in Bristol, Liverpool and Bath where he taught drawing.[The artist established his career in America in 1794 by offering to make profiles of local and national politicians. He then used the original portraits to show as samples to new clients or to make copies of the originals.

During this time, copies of portraits of famous people were popular, though the competition among artists was intense, and many had to travel in order to find customers.He also painted three-quarter bust-size pastel portraits with a delicate, precise touch. His colour palette was predominantly black, white, and grey. The skin was rendered in flesh tones and the backgrounds were generally blue. Sharples charged $15 per profile and $25 for a full-face view and his subjects included George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Hester Thraie, Joseph Priestley, James Madison, Dolley Madison, John Adams and Elihu Hubbard Smith

Framed dimensions: 25 cm x 17.5cm. Provenance: With Frost and Reed stock number D 4040.