Portrait miniature of a lady holding a mask, atttributable to Hugh Douglas Hamilton c.1770. She wears a grey silk dress decorated with strands of pearls, her hair fashionably upswept.She holds her mask away from her pale face revealing her identity. The palette is particularly sophisticated with muted tones of grey, lilac and brown.
Gold frame. 2.5 by 2inches.
Hugh Douglas Hamilton(1740-1808) was a celebrated Irish artist better known for painting small, oval portraits in pastel – or crayon as it was known.
Masquerades, along with Pleasure Gardens were the principal forms of entertainment for aristocracy and the emerging middle-classes in the mid to late 18th century.