id: 121269 accession number: 1942.1140 share license status: CC0 url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1942.1140 updated: Portrait of Sir Thomas Baring, 2nd Baronet, 1803. George Engleheart (British, 1752–1829). Watercolor on ivory in a gilt metal frame with plaited brown hair in glazed reserve on back; framed: 8.6 x 7 cm (3 3/8 x 2 3/4 in.); unframed: 8 x 6.3 cm (3 1/8 x 2 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, The Edward B. Greene Collection 1942.1140 title: Portrait of Sir Thomas Baring, 2nd Baronet title in original language: series: series in original language: creation date: 1803 creation date earliest: 1803 creation date latest: 1803 current location: creditline: The Edward B. Greene Collection copyright: --- culture: England, 19th century technique: watercolor on ivory in a gilt metal frame with plaited brown hair in glazed reserve on back department: Modern European Painting and Sculpture collection: Mod Euro - Painting 1800-1960 type: Portrait Miniature find spot: catalogue raisonne: --- CREATORS * George Engleheart (British, 1752–1829) - artist George Engleheart was born in Kew to a German plaster modeler. Among his teachers were George Barret (1728/32–
1784) and Joshua Reynolds (1723–1792), whose work Engleheart copied in miniature. One of Richard Cosway’s (1742–1821) greatest rivals and stylistically the closest to his work, Engleheart worked primarily in London until retiring in 1813, after which date he painted few miniatures. Engleheart’s miniatures have a more linear, labored manner than those of Cosway, whose painterly works were often left unfinished near the edges. Like Cosway, Engleheart often placed
his figures against a background of sky. But the firm draftsmanship (especially in the hair), heavy brows, and the use of grays and blacks for shadows are distinctive to Engleheart, who was celebrated for his ability to capture a sitter’s likeness closely. Engleheart’s productivity is documented by the fee book he kept between 1775 and 1813, which records an astounding total of 4,853 miniatures. He exhibited at the Royal Academy between 1773 and 1812, and was miniature painter to King George III from 1789. There are three fine Engleheart miniatures in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art, all portraits of gentlemen dating near the turn of the century. --- measurements: Framed: 8.6 x 7 cm (3 3/8 x 2 3/4 in.); Unframed: 8 x 6.3 cm (3 1/8 x 2 1/2 in.) state of the work: edition of the work: support materials: inscriptions: inscription: signed right: E translation: remark: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS title: Intimate Images: Portrait Miniatures from Europe and America opening date: 1993-03-26T04:00:00 Intimate Images: Portrait Miniatures from Europe and America. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 26-October 17, 1993). title: Disembodied: Portrait Minatures and their Contemporary Relatives opening date: 2013-11-10T00:00:00 Disembodied: Portrait Minatures and their Contemporary Relatives. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (November 10, 2013-February 16, 2014). --- LEGACY EXHIBITIONS --- PROVENANCE (Leo Schidlof (1886-1966), Pairs, France. sold to Edward B. Greene). date: By 1928-1930 footnotes: citations: Edward B. Greene (1878-1957), Cleveland, OH, gifted to the Cleveland Museum of Art date: 1930-1942 footnotes: citations: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH date: 1942- footnotes: citations: --- fun fact: Engleheart also painted miniatures of Baring's wife and elder sons whose names are listed in the artists fee book; he was charging from 12 to 15 guineas for a miniature painting. digital description: wall description: Though this portrait has had the title “Portrait of a Man” since 1942 when it entered the museum’s collection, the
sitter was identified by previous owners, including Leo Schidlof and Edward Greene, as a member of the famous Baring banking family, of whom G. C. Williamson mentions several members in his biography of George Engleheart.
Thomas Baring (1772–1848) was not elevated to the baronetcy until 1810. Thomas was a member of Parliament,
partner in the firm Baring Brothers & Co. from 1804, and chairman of the London and Southwestern Railroad from 1832 to 1833. Baring Brothers & Co. brokered the $15 million Louisiana Purchase in 1802, which doubled the size of the United States and financially refueled Napoleon’s war effort.
Thomas wears a dark blue coat with brass buttons, white waistcoat with a high white collar, bow, and frill down the front, all of which was standard attire for British gentlemen at the turn of the century. His hair is worn à l’antique (hair cut short and worn in curls, especially around the forehead), a style sported by men after the turn of the century that evokes the coiffures of statesmen of ancient Rome. The back of the frame contains plaited brown hair. There is a small area of pigment loss located at the lower right edge of the sitter’s coat. --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS Cleveland Museum of Art. Portrait Miniatures ; The Edward B. Greene Collection. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1951. page number: Reproduced: p. 27, no. 13, pl. XVIII url: https://archive.org/details/PortraitMiniatures/page/n65 Cleveland Museum of Art, and Alan Chong. European & American Painting in the Cleveland Museum of Art: A Summary Catalogue. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1993. page number: p. 286 url: Korkow, Cory, and Dario Robleto. Disembodied: Portrait Miniatures and Their Contemporary Relatives. 2013. page number: Mentioned: p.85 url: Korkow, Cory, and Jon L. Seydl. British Portrait Miniatures: The Cleveland Museum of Art. 2013. page number: Cat. no. 63, pp. 244-246 url: --- IMAGES web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1942.1140/1942.1140_web.jpg print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1942.1140/1942.1140_print.jpg full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1942.1140/1942.1140_full.tif