19th Century Joshua Dighton Portrait of Sir William Sutton Circa 1850

This wonderful, original full-length watercolour portrait was painted in England around the 1850 period. The painting is on paper/card and depicts English gentleman Sir William Sutton, one of Britain’s wealthiest men. The Sutton ancestry can be dated back to the 11th Century during the reign of William the Conqueror

The painting is a rare discovery as it is painted by Joshua Dighton. Joshua was son of the celebrated artist Richard Dighton (1795-1880) most well-known for his full-length profile watercolour paintings featuring members of British high society. Joshua was also grandson of Robert Dighton (1751-1814) who was also a well known portrait painter, caricaturist and actor.

Our scarce painting is by a third generation Dighton member, Joshua Dighton (b abt. 1831 - d 1908) – please see another Joshua Dighton portrait at the National Portrait Gallery, London ref: NPG 3553

Ours is a full-length portrait; we love how the artist has painted the sitters coat and top hat. Such a smartly dressed gentleman. The painting is on a sheet of paper, mounted on card, all housed behind old glass in its original gilt gesso frame. The label to the reverse of the frame is signed by the artist with the inscription reading ‘Sir Richard Sutton. By Joshua Dighton.’

THE ARTIST

Joshua Dighton (b abt. 1831) was a professional artist like his father and grand-father. He painted in the same style, so that looking at the paintings alone without signatures, it is very hard to tell them apart! In the 1851 census Joshua was living with his parents at Belgrave, London. Both Joshua and his father’s occupation are listed as ‘Artist.’

Joshua married Eliza Slater in 1867 in Battersea, England. During the 1870s Joshua and his wife and daughter lived in Battersea, England. Joshua was still working as a portrait painter. By the time of the 1881 census Joshua had retrained as a portrait photographer and was living with his family in Wimbledon, England. Many portrait painters and silhouette artists retrained and rebranded themselves as photographers. This trend first began during the 1850s as the new art of Photography became the standard way to capture a likeness. Chepaer and more instant that sitting for a portrait.

In the 1890s Joshua was still living in Wimbledon but he had returned to being a professional artist, perhaps he was more successful as a portrait painter than a photographer. In the 1901 census Joshua is still living in Wimbledon and still working as an artist.

Joshua died in 1908 and is buried in Kingston Cemetery and Crematorium, London.

THE SITTER

The sitter is Sir Richard Sutton, 2nd Baronet (b 1798 – d 1855). Sir Richard Sutton was a wealthy gentleman and owner of Quorn Hall. Quorn Hall is a grade II listed country house in the village of Quorn, Leicestershire. He was said to lived a lavish life which was very expensive to do, as a household he had a annual household expenditure of roughly £1m in modern money.

Sir Richard Sutton was the eldest son of Sir John Sutton, 1st Baronet (b 1733 – d 1802), and Sophia Francis Sutton, née Chaplin.

Sir Richard Sutton, 2nd Baronet inherited the family estate as a small child on the death of his father. He became one of the wealthiest men in the country. He owned largest estates in Nottinghamshire, Norfolk and Leicestershire with further large properties in London. He owned much of Mayfair! His passion was for field sports, in which he was an accomplished sportsman. At Quorn Hall he stabled over 70 horses and over 80 hounds. He had a great passion and talent for music and a contempt for politics. He died suddenly in 1855 at his town residence NO. 94. Cambridge House, Piccadilly, London. He married Mary Elizabeth Burton (Burton family of Burton Hall, county Carlow) in 1819 and they had seven sons and four daughters.

This is the perfect item for anyone with a passion for social history, or who loves the works of the Dighton family.

Measuring: Frame width 9 inch (23 cm) by height 12 ¼ inch (31 cm). Painting width 7 inch (18 cm) by height 10 ¼ inch (26 cm).

Condition: Minor related aging and toning to paper. Frame has some surface wear but all part of its charm.

Item id:16254