Live Auction 22326Old Master & British Drawings
THOMAS WORLIDGE (PETERBOROUGH 1700-1776 LONDON)
Lot 159 Property of an American Collector

THOMAS WORLIDGE (PETERBOROUGH 1700-1776 LONDON)

Study of four heads in profile

Closed1 February 2024

Estimate

USD 3,000–5,000

Considering selling a similar item?

Discover its value with a complimentary estimate from our specialists.

More Information

Conditions of Sale
How to sell

THOMAS WORLIDGE (PETERBOROUGH 1700-1776 LONDON)
Study of four heads in profile
signed with monogram ‘TW’ (lower right)
black chalk
10 ¾ x 8 ½ in. (27.2 x 21.5 cm.)

Charles Rogers (L.625), and by descent to his brother-in-law
William Cotton, and by descent to his son
William Cotton the Younger.
Possibly Rogers sale; Thomas Philipe, London, 15-23 April 1799, catalogue untraced.
William Esdaile (L.2617) (†); Christie’s, London, 18-25 June 1840, probably part of lot 1272 (8s. to Gills).
Anonymous sale; Christie’s, London, 21 November 1978, lot 53.
with Pandora Old Masters, New York (An Exhibition of Old Master Drawings and Oil Sketches, 1999, no.14, ill).

Specialist note

Worlidge, a portrait painter and etcher, divided much of his working life between London and Bath and is credited with introducing both William Hoare (1707-1792) and Thomas Gainsborough (1727-1788) to the work of Rembrandt van Rijn, whose drypoint etching style he imitated. The present drawing demonstrates the direct, confident draughtsmanship which is characteristic of Worlidge at his best, with the short, broken line and hatching showing the influence of Rembrandt's etching technique.

Other examples of his drawings are in the British Museum, the Ashmolean Museum, and the Victoria Art Gallery, Bath.