George Henry Harlow

Lot 59 George Henry Harlow British, 1787-1819 Portrait of a Lady in a Fancy Hat Black and red chalk on paper 16 7/8 x 12 3/4 inches (42.2 x 32.7 cm) Provenance: The Drawing Shop, New York, 1962 C Estate of Susan Erpf Van De Bovenkamp Estimate $800-1,200 The bottom2-2 1/2 inches of the sheet have been folded up from the back to fit the frame. Mat burning around the edges. Paper toned. Scattered foxing. Attached with scotch tape to the front mat at the upper right, upper left and lower center. Any condition statement is given as a courtesy to a client, is only an opinion and should not be treated as a statement of fact. Doyle New York shall have no responsibility for any error or omission. The absence of a condition statement does not imply that the lot is in perfect condition or completely free from wear and tear, imperfections or the effects of aging.

George Henry Harlow (London 1787-1819) Two studies for Arthur from Shakespeare's 'King John' pencil and red and black chalk and stump 9¾ x 7 7/8 in. (24.8 x 20 cm.) These two studies are preparatory drawings for the figure of Edmund in Harlow's painting King John, Act IV, Scene 1 - Hubert and Arthur which was exhibited at the British Institution in 1815. Hubert is the servant of King John ordered to kill the King's nephew Arthur, who is his rival to the throne. In this scene, Hubert is told to 'put out his eyes' but Arthur begs for his life and Hubert relents. During his escape however, Arthur falls and dies. Harlow was the best known and most talented of Sir Thomas Lawrence's pupils. He entered Lawrence's studio in 1802 and Joseph Farington noted in his diary that 'Lawrence has got a young pupil of 15 years of age, who draws, Lane says, better than he does. His name is Harlow.' Harlow's ambition and impetuosity meant however that he lasted less than eighteen months with Lawrence and they parted on bad terms. His portrait drawings show the influence of the master. He went on his own Grand Tour in June 1818 and died of a throat infection shortly after his return aged 32.

George Henry Harlow (London 1787-1819) Portrait of John Windham Dalling, three-quarter-length, as a midshipman, before a stormy landscape oil on canvas 128 x 103cm (50 3/8 x 40 9/16in). PROVENANCE: By descent to the present owner through the Windham, Dalling, and Meade families at Earsham Hall, Bungay, Suffolk, from the 18th and early 19th centuries. The subject of this portrait is the second of two siblings who, rather unusually, bore the same name: John Windham Dalling senior died aged seventeen in 1786 in India. His parents subsequently named another son John Windham (1789-1853), and it is this boy who is the subject of Harlow's portrait. Dalling, who entered the Navy as a First Class Volunteer, may, in fact, have had Nelson to thank for his opportunity to go to sea since the Admiral was stationed in Jamaica when Dalling's father, General Sir John Dalling, 1st Baronet, was Governor of the island. It is therefore perfectly possible that Sir John might well have approached Nelson at a later date seeking a preferment for his son but whether this is true or not, young Dalling joined HMS Defence in November 1803 and began his career under Captain George Hope. Present at Trafalgar, by which time he had been made Midshipman, he transferred into the frigate Amphion in December 1805 and was sent to the Mediterranean where he remained for several years. During that time, he assisted with the landing of the troops heading for their great victory at Maida, and was present at the capture of the town of Reggio as well as the important fortress of Cotrone. By 1809 Amphion was in the Adriatic and Dalling took part in various so-called 'Boat Actions', most notably the covert expedition into the port of Cortellazzo on 28th August (1809) when 6 enemy gunboats and 7 fully-laden merchantmen were either captured or destroyed. After promotion to Lieutenant in October 1810, he was posted into HMS Ville de Paris which was part of the blockading force stationed off Toulon. Thereafter sent to the Cape of Good Hope, he was given his first command – the sloop Nimrod – in 1817 and, later, the sloop Raleigh in 1826. Appointed Captain in 1828, his final command was the corvette Daphne in the Mediterranean from 1838-42, from which date he was placed on half-pay and retired from the sea. In 1844 he married Frances Anne, eldest daughter of Colonel Fanshawe, CB, Royal Engineers, and received the Naval General Service medal with three clasps when it was issued in 1848. He died at his brother's home, Earsham Hall, in 1853 and was buried in the local churchyard. Harlow has portrayed John Dalling as an assured young man, every bit the naval hero. The romantic backdrop of a stormy sky and rugged coastline contrasts with Dalling's confident stance. Despite his extreme youth, he commands our respect: this, after all, is the young man who played a part in one of the greatest events in British maritime history.

GEORGE HENRY HARLOW (1787-1819) PORTRAIT OF LAURA VILLIERS; PORTRAIT OF SIR JAMES YEO; TWO HEAD STUDIES OF A CHILD Three, two initialled and dated April 1815 or Oct 12/ 1813 and inscribed, pencil with red crayon 24 x 19cm. or slightly smaller; with two small stipple portraits in gilt frames (5) * Sir James Lucas Yeo (1782-1818) was a noted naval commander, promoted post captain at the age of 25, who also served in Canada in 1812. Estimate: 200-300

1430. GEORGE HENRY HARLOW (1787-1819) British Portrait of Mrs Thomas Wright Hill, Nee Lea. Born 1765. Oil on canvas. 30x25 inches. £1500-2000 Sarah Lea married Thomas Wright Hill (1763-1851), who had been a type of reformer. Her husband came from a family of dissenting small traders. It was while serving an apprenticeship in Birmingham that her husband came under the influence of Joseph Priestley (scientist, Republican and Unitarian radical). Thomas returned to this profession as a school master starting Hill Top in 1803 after a failed business venture manufacturing ponchos. He was also a noted stenographer. George Henry Harlow (c. 1787-1819) was born in London. In 1802, at the age of fifteen, he entered the studio of Thomas Lawrence. From 1804, he regularly exhibited portraits at the Royal Academy, before going to study in Italy. There he devoted himself to studying and copying the work of the Italian Renaissance masters, such as Raphael.