Portrait of John Smart
Framed: 1 3/4 × 1 13/16 inches (4.45 × 4.6 cm)
- 128
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, after 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), Middlesex, England, 1934 [1];
Possibly to his nephew, John William Busteed (1902–1981), Sussex, England, by 1964 [2];
To Edward Grosvenor Paine (1911–1989), New Orleans, by 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–March 31, 1992 [1];
Their gift to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1992.
Notes
[1] According to the 1981 sales catalogue, lot 119 was previously owned by William Henry Bose, “great-grandson of John Smart.” It is not clear how or from whom Paine may have acquired the lot.
[2] According to Daphne Foskett, J. W. Busteed owned some Smart family papers as of 1964. See Foskett, John Smart: The Man and His Miniatures (London: Cory, Adams, and Mackay, 1964), xviii, 24, 45–46. These papers along with Portrait of John Smart were part of lot 119 at the 1981 sale.
[3] The Portrait of John Smart was on loan to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, from April 6 to December 8, 1982.
