Figure 1.--This is a detail from a unidentified portrait of four brothers anbd sisters, probably in the 1810s. The children all wear regency dresses. We believe two are boys, including the child here.

We have found some paintings which we believe to be English, but of course are not sure. Several offer fascinating depictions of children's clothes. Unfortunaly as the artist is unknown, it is difficult to date the paintings with any precession.

The 17th Century

Unidentified Artist (England, 17th century)

Here we have a fascinating portrait of Anne Cliford and her family, including her two brothers. We do not know who the artist was, but a HBC reader has provided a good bit of information about Anne Clifford. The portrait is displayed in Skipton Castle in Yorkshore.

The 18th Century

The 19th Century

Unidentified Artist (England, early 19th century)

All we know about this portrait is who the subject was. We note a portrait of Edward Ollerenshaw painted by an unknown artist. We have no idea who the artist was. Edward was the son of Edward Ollerenshaw thus he was Edward Jr. Edward Jr was the Great-great uncle of Lord Sauderson (spelling indestincr). There are some question marks on the label so apparently the identification is somewhat uncertain. The portrait is undated. It looks to us based on the ruffled collar that Edward had his portrait taken in the early 19th century. We are, however, somewhat confused. Edward's jacket, however, does not look at all like a skeleton suit which was in fashion at the time. Ferhaps the portrait older then we think, we are just not sure.

Unidentified Artist (England, 1810s?)

This is a fascinating portrait of four children, almost certainly brothers and sisters. They look very sweet and are well dressed in period Regency clothing. It is a typical "family snapshot" from an era before photography and shows the children at their best. A very skillfully painted work with an absolutely lovely motif. Unfortunately the portrait is unsigned. It is, however, to believed to be a British artist. The medium is oil on copper sheet. The painting is 7"/17.5cm wide and 8"/20cm high. The painting is from the early 19th century. We would guess the 1810s, but are not sure. All of the children wear dresses and have short hair cuts. We believe two are girls and two are boys.

Unidentified Artist (England, 1830s)

This is an early 19th century pastel portrait of an unidentified boy. The portrait is undated, but was probanly painted in the 1830s. It came from a home in The Cathedral Close in Salisbury. Presumably the portait was one of the ancestors of the family. The portrait looks to be the work of an unidentified naive artist. While not a great work of art, it shows the boys clothing in detail. He wears a blue dress with a low neckline and white trim. The dress also has baloon sleeves.

Unidentified Artist (England, 1837)

We note a portrait of William Henry Manly. We know that he was an English boy and that he was 9 years old when his portrait was taken in 1837. Other than that we know nothing about the the portrait. This includes who the artist was. Hw was clearly a very competent artist. We would imagine that he was a trained artist.

Unidentified Artist (about 1840)

Here we have an unidentified English oil portrait. It is clearly a mid-19th century portrait. We would guess it was paunted about 1840, but would welcome any reader insights here. The potrait shoes a boy about 10 years old with his dog. The boy is well drawn, but the dog more amateurishly. It is a useful portrait because his clothes are so well illustrated. He wears a short black jacket and white blouse. The blouse has an open collar with wide pointed tips. As was common at the time he ears long trousers in a contrasting color. White seemds to have been a popular color. The boy is clearly from an affluent family. Both the clothes and the fact he had his portrait painted demonstrate this,

Unidentified Artist (England, 1840s?)

This painting looks modern in style when you first see it from a distance, especially the vibrant colours, almost like a photograph of manequins. The girl's clothes show it to be early 19th century--perhaps the 1840s. Hopefully an expertbon girls' dresses will help us date it. Note the boy's hunting outfit is the same as worn by the modern "blood sport" crowd. Unfortunately I do not know who the artist was. The painting was first attributed to a Swiss artist before finally being attributed to a little known English painter.

Unidentified Artist (England, mid-19th century)

Here we have a portait of three children, presumably broyhers and sisters. The children are not identified, but look to be teen agers. Nor is the portait dated. We would guess that it was painted in thee 1830s or very early 40s. That is, however, only a guess and we would be interested in any insights readers might offer. The boys wears a large white collar with pointed tips. The painting is a little indestinct to evaluate the clothing very closely. The black color of the boy's suit seems in keeping with the fashion of the Victorian era. In sharp contrast to the boy's modest outfit, the girls wear low cut dresses and colorful dresses. The portrait is unsigned. One agent suggested the artist was Sir Thomas Lawrence. It seems to me that the depictions are not up to Lawrene's standard, but we do not pretend to be art experts.

Unidentified Artist (England, mid 19th century)

This is a wondeful unsigned oil portait we believe of an English school boy. We believe it was painted inthe mid-19th century, in part because photographic portraits became more common in the late-19th century. The portrait is difficult to date because some school uniforms did not change for centuries and thus did not reflect contemporary style. The boy wears a black outfit with a clerical collar. We believe this is a school uniform. There were a number of schools, the famed hospital schools that had these historic uniforms. I thought, however, they were blue. I'm not sure what school had a black uniform. Hopefully our British readers will know more. A note from April 1920 on the reverse tells that the painting was the property of a Mr. Edward White. We windr if he or a relative might be the boy in the portrait.

The 20th Century

Unidentified Artist (England, early 20th century)

We know very little about this oil portrait. It is unsigned, but almost certainly executed by an English artist. The style of painting almost certainly dates it to the 20th century, probably the early 20th century. The gallery selling the portrait describes it. "Here is a fantastic early 20th century portrait of four rosy children in bust length depicted against a powder blue background. All shiny blond, three with blue eyes and one with penetrating brown eyes (placed "en face" with her round Raphaelian countenance effectively placed smack center in the canvas). The three oldest girls are in matching frocks in pastel variations of the primary colours blue, yellow, red. The youngest is in white lace from head to toe, with a green sash about the waist. Simple elegance and quiet grandeur!" While the painting was done in the early 20th century, the children are dressed more like the early 19th century, perhaps the 1830s. We are guessing the family decided to have their children painted in historical costumes. The three older children are all painted in dresses. You would guess that they were sisters, but the hair does not seem quite right for girls who would have more likely had center parts.

Unidentified Artist (England, 1920s)

Here we have a fairly modern English portrait, even so we do not know who the artist was or weho the boy painted was. We believe that it was painted in the 1920s. It is a striking portrait of a red-haired boy about 10 years old. The British would say ginger-colored hair. He wears a turtle-neck light blue sweater. This is a wonderful minature, painted on ivory in watercolor. It was housed in its original silver and paste set frame, the visible size of the image is 1 1/2 x 1 1/4inches. There are no biographical details or signature.

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Created: 3:01 AM 9/21/20049
Last updated: 7:06 PM 10/23/2006