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recto overall
Portrait of Sir Robert Adair
recto overall
recto overall

Portrait of Sir Robert Adair

Former TitlePortrait of a Man
Artist Richard Cosway (English, 1742 - 1821)
Date1792
MediumWatercolor on ivory; Gilt copper alloy case
DimensionsSight: 2 3/4 × 2 1/4 inches (6.99 × 5.72 cm)
Framed: 3 × 2 1/2 inches (7.62 × 6.35 cm)
Credit LineGift of Mr. and Mrs. John W. Starr and the Starr Foundation, Inc.
Object numberF58-60/17
InscribedInscribed on verso: "Rdus Cosway / RA / Primarius Pictor / Serenissimi Walliae / Principis / Pinxit / 1792"
On View
Not on view
Collections
DescriptionPortrait of a man with powdered hair wearing a blue coat before a sky background.Exhibition History
The Starr Foundation Collection of Miniatures, The Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, December 8, 1972–January 14, 1973, no cat., no. 68, as Unknown Man.
Provenance

Probably Sir Robert Adair (1763–1855), London, 1792;

With S. J. Phillips, London, by 1931 [1];

Mr. John W. (1905–2000) and Mrs. Martha Jane (1906–2011) Starr, Kansas City, MO, by 1958;

Their gift to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1958.

Notes:

[1] The Nelson-Atkins miniature is illustrated in an advertisement for “S.J. Phillips, London” as “Miniature of Sir Robert Adair (Robin Adair)” in Art News 29 (April 18, 1931): 3.

Published References

Art News 29 (April 18, 1931): 3 (repro.).

Ross E. Taggart, The Starr Collection of Miniatures in the William Rockhill Nelson Gallery (Kansas City, MO: Nelson Gallery-Atkins Museum, 1971), no. 68, p. 26, (repro.), as Unknown Man.

Information about a particular artwork or image, including provenance information, is based upon historic information and may not be currently accurate or complete. Research on artwork and images is an ongoing process, and the information about a particular artwork or image may not reflect the most current information available to the Museum. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about a particular artwork or image, please e-mail provenance@nelson-atkins.org.