Cleveland Museum of Art

A Portrait of Welby Sherman Asleep in a Chair

George Richmond

Date

1828

Medium

graphite with touches of watercolor

Culture

England, 19th century

Department

Drawings

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

George Richmond’s study of his friend, the dozing artist, Welby Sherman, was endearingly inscribed, "As he may be seen after dinner." Dressed in a cravat and jacket and seated in a hard-backed chair, Sherman has momentarily drifted off, perhaps during a lull in friendly conversation. Minute touches of black wash define the bridge of his nose, eyelashes, and brow, and exquisitely subtle graphite hatching expresses the soft curves of the youthful sitter’s features. Touches of pink wash on the lips and cheek breathe life into the figure. Both George Richmond and Welby Sherman belonged to a group of artists who called themselves the Ancients, who looked to the Middle Ages for inspiration and celebrated the divine in nature.

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