Artwork
Lady Algernon Percy
Lady Algernon Percy is an oil painting by the Rococo painting artist James Millar. It dates from 1778 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Technique & Style
The physical dimensions indicate a half-length or three-quarter length format typical for individual sitters of this period.
Executed in 1777, this portrait is an oil painting on canvas. The work measures 91.5 cm in height and 71.5 cm in width. Created by James Millar, the piece utilizes standard materials for portraiture of the late eighteenth century, combining oil pigments with a woven fabric support. The physical dimensions indicate a half-length or three-quarter length format typical for individual sitters of this period.
History & Provenance
James Millar created the oil-on-canvas portrait Lady Algernon Percy in 1777. The work's early ownership is traced to E. Ledger before entering the London art market in 1923 through Arthur Tooth & Sons. In April 1924, the painting was sold by Tooth & Sons to Thos.
Agnew & Sons, who mistakenly attributed it to Sir Martin Archer Shee. Howard Sturges of Providence, Rhode Island, subsequently purchased the piece from Agnew's. Upon Sturges's death in 1955, the portrait was bequeathed to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., where it arrived in 1956.
The painting Lady Algernon Percy by James Millar was held by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. It entered the collection through a series of transactions: sold by Arthur Tooth & Sons in London on 10 April 1924 to Thos. Agnew & Sons, then purchased by Howard Sturges, who bequeathed it to the National Gallery of Art in 1956.
The work is cataloged under the accession number 1956.18.1 in the National Gallery of Art's collection.
It was exhibited at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., in the exhibition 'American Paintings from the 18th and 19th Centuries' in 1948.
Overview
Created circa 1778, Lady Algernon Percy is an oil on canvas portrait by Birmingham‑based artist James Millar. The work presents a young woman standing in a garden, her white dress and gold shawl illuminated by soft light, set against a muted landscape of trees and distant hills.
Subject & Meaning
The sitter, identified as Lady Algernon Percy, is depicted with a composed posture, one hand resting on a stone wall and the other holding a strip of fabric. Her neatly pulled‑back hair, feathered hat, and elegant attire convey the genteel status and refined sensibilities of an 18th‑century English aristocrat.
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Artist & collection
Artist
James Millar (c. 1735 – 5 December 1805) was an English portrait painter. Born in Birmingham, Millar is recorded in the town's Poor Law levy books in 1763 but was to become the leading Birmingham portrait painter of the…
