(British/Russia, 1781–1829)

A fine pair of portraits: Seated Lady, in a white lace gown and satin wrap, signed lower right "Dawe/Pinx 1815", 52 x 42 in.; Seated Gentleman, with books and seals, signed at bottom"G. Dawe R.A. 1815", 50-1/2 x 40-1/2 in. both oil on canvas; matching Regency style gilt wood and composition frames, 59 x 48-1/2 in. 

George Dawe was an English portraitist who is most noted for his portraits of Russian generals active during Napoleon's invasion of Russia and commissioned for the Military Gallery of the Winter Palace (now destroyed). He was also commissioned to paint portraits of Tsar Nicholas I and others in the royal family. He worked in Saint Petersburg beginning in 1819 and would move there in the 1820s while he produced well over 300 portraits. Elected an associate member of the Royal Academy in 1809, he became an Academician in 1814, a year before these portraits were completed. Throughout his career he painted many of the elite in society, including the Duke and Duchess of Kent, Princess Charlotte and Prince Leopold. He also won acclaim from the artistic establishment and other luminaries such as the poet, Pushkin, who honored him with prose.