Circle of David Morier (Swiss/British, 1705-1770), "A Gentleman on Horseback", c. 1750, oil on canvas, unsigned, 16 3/4 in. x 14 in., framed.
Provenance: Christie's, London, 4 November 1960, lot 184, as 'Devis;' Collection of Earle Williams Newton II (1917-2012), Ponte Vedra, FL.
Note: This charming small painting is a reduced version of Morier's Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland (1721-1765), offered at Sotheby's, London, 6 June 2007, lot 26. That much more monumental picture, at some 40 in. x 50 in., was one of a large group of paintings that Morier executed for this younger son of the House of Hanover (the most conspicuous British patron of the arts in his generation), mainly in c. 1745-1750. Both paintings, at their widely discrepant sizes, show similarly costumed riders in closely analogous poses, on the same horses with the same distinctive gaits; the main difference is that the large painting by Morier is set in a wide park with a broad water feature in the middle distance, outlined by an extensive prospect of buildings and trees. This small derivation shows the sitter directly regarding the viewer (Prince William had looked straight ahead); and whereas the latter's legs had extended far below the belly of his horse, the sitter in this reduction has substantially shorter stirrups. In view of such a close congruence of design in their principal figures, one plausible ascription of this picture might be "After Morier"; but the conspicuous changes in sitter and background, as well (above all) as the sharp discrepancy of scale, make it perhaps preferable to define this tiny variant of the official 'state' painting as a quickly-executed reduction by an anonymous follower, possibly associated with Morier's circle.
Reference: "William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland," Grove Dictionary of Art, Jane Turner, ed., 34 vols., London, 1996, vol. 14, pp. 143-144.