(British, 1750-1805)

Helen and Nevillia Senior of Pylewell with their Spaniel (J.338.1633), circa 1773, unsigned, pastel and gouache on laid paper mounted on panel, oval, 26-1/2 x 19-1/2 in.; carved and gilt wood reverse profile molding leaf frame, museum glass, 32-1/8 x 25-1/2 x 2-1/8 in.

Provenance: Collection of Mrs. Whitelaw Reid, New York City, her sale, Ophir Hall, New York, AAA Anderson Galleries, 1935, lot 1145, as by Tilly Kettle; New York Private Collection; Parke-Bernet, 1963, lot 15; Private Collection; Sotheby's, New York, July 20, 1994, lot 17 as attributed to Tilly Kettle; Paula Peyraud, New York; Bloomsbury, 2009, lot 64 as attributed to Daniel Gardner

Note: Neil Jeffares in Dictionary of Pastellists Before 1800 titles this work "Mrs. John Anstey, nee Helen Senior (1763-1837) and her sister Mrs. William Thomas, nee Nevillia Senior (1769-1842), the daughters of Ascanius William Senior of Pylewell, Southampton, circa 1773".

Helen was born by his first wife, Helen and Nevillia by Charlotte Walter, his second. Ascanius William Senior went to India as a young man in 1753 to make his fortune as a "writer" and later a clerk in the employ of the East India Company. Rising in position and stature, he returned to England 13 years later, an extremely wealthy man, purchasing properties in London and in the countryside, including Pylewell in 1780. This portrait of his two oldest daughters was probably done in 1772 or 1773, based on the age of the two girls—shown here with a favorite lap-dog in a country setting. Daniel Gardner (1750-1805) was born in Westmorland and probably studied under George Romney in Kendal and again in London during the 1760s. From 1770-72, he was a student at the Royal Academy Schools and won a silver medal for figure drawing in 1771 and exhibited at the RA for the first time that same year. About 1772 he studied in Sir Joshua Reynold's studio. His association and friendship with both Romney and Reynolds led to valuable society introductions and he soon became a fashionable and successful portrait painter. Unlike most other leading portrait artists, who worked in oil, Gardner developed his own medium, a combination of body color, pastel and oils-the three being combined in a single work, as seen in this fine portrait. His group portraits of children are especially notable for their warm and sentimental treatment and it is perhaps the uniqueness of his medium that heightened his success in such commissions.

Reference: Jeffares, N. (n.d.). Pastels & Pastellists. Pastels & pastellists: The Dictionary of pastellists before 1800. J.338.1633 http://www.pastellists.com/ ( accompanied by a facsimile from the database)