George Romney

Sir John Stirling Maxwell, 10^th Bt, K.T. (1866-1956),

by family descent until,

sale, London, Christie’s, South Kensington, 21 July 2015, lot 436,

where acquired by the present owner 

This sensitive and moving drawing is thought likely to date to the late 1770s and it forms part of a group of studies that focus on 'domestic' subjects. Not seemingly created in preparation for paintings, the works from this group are characterised by their slick confidence of execution and their fluidity of line. Such is the feeling of spontaneity that it has been suggested that Romney was either drawing directly from life, or possibly, as an exercise in memory.¹

The present drawing was once owned by Sir John Stirling Maxwell, 10^th Bt, a founding member of the National Trust of Scotland, who was appointed a Knight of the Thistle in 1929.

We are grateful to Alex Kidson for his help when cataloguing this work.

^1. For another drawing of this type please see: A. Kidson, George Romney, London 2002, p. 144, no. 80 ‘A Woman holding a bowl’