Portrait Medal of John Smart
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The medals (nos. 1 & 2) commissioned to honor John Smart’s years as vice president of the Society of Artists in Great Britain further demonstrate his artistic reputation, which he was keen to promote. Smart probably made the wax impression of his own profile from the medals (no. 3), demonstrating a lifelong fascination with his legacy, echoed in his numerous self-portraits. A century after Smart’s death, renewed demand for his work led to an increase in copies of his miniatures (no. 4).
Probably John Smart (1741–1811), London, by around 1777–1811;
Probably by descent to his son, John James Smart (1805–1870), London, 1811–1870;
Probably by descent to his daughter Mary Ann Bose (née Smart, 1856–1934), Edinburgh, 1870–1934;
By descent to her son to William Henry Bose (1875–1957), London, 1934;
Purchased from Bose by Edward Grosvenor Paine (1911–1989), New Orleans, by 1957–1981;
Purchased from Paine at Fine Portrait Miniatures from the Collection of Mr. Edward Grosvenor Paine, Sotheby Parke Bernet, London, June 22, 1981, lot 119, by Mr. John W. (1905–2000) and Mrs. Martha Jane (1906–2011) Starr, Kansas City, MO, 1981–2011 [1];
By descent to their son, Mr. John Philip (b. 1933) and daughter-in-law, Mrs. Barry Mann (b. 1939) Starr, Kansas City, MO, 2011–2017;
Given to their son, James Philip Starr (b. 1965), Kansas City, MO, 2017–2018;
His gift to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 2018.
Notes
[1] The medal was on long-term loan to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, from April 6, 1982, until it was officially given to the museum by James Philip Starr.
