Richmond R.A., George (1809 – 1896) – Portrait of Samuel Palmer (1805-1881)

Richmond made many drawings of his friends and a number of Palmer exist. This rapid sketch, taken from life, must have been made c.1829/30 after Richmond's return from Paris in May 1829 and about the same time he made the famous portraits of Palmer in the NPG (2154 & 2253). By this point Palmer's hair, seen much shorter in Richmond's portraits of 1828, had grown out into his recognisable, long locks. This work can be stylistically compared to many of Richmond's drawings from this time, but for an almost identical comparison see his self-portrait in profile exhibited by Agnew's & W/S Fine Art in 2001. The study verso relates very closely to Richmond's important engraving 'The Shepherd'. There is an 1827 drawing by Palmer showing Richmond working on the plate (Huntington 68.25) so if this is a study for the print, he must have used each side of the sheet at different times.