Attributed to William Tate (Liverpool 1748-1806 Bath)

William Tate studied under Joseph Wright of Derby, and his style was very much informed by Wright's; indeed, it was Tate who was commissioned to complete Wright's unfinished portraits after the artist's death in 1797. The present work shows the influence on Tate of Wright's studies of old men, such as his series from the 1770s depicting the 'old man and his ass' from Laurence Sterne's A Sentimental Journey through France and Italy, or his painting of A Philosopher by Lamplight, from c.1778-81 (Private Collection, U.K.).