Lot 42: Attributed to Hugh Barron (London 1747-1791) Portrait of Dr. Samuel Johnson and his wife, Elizabeth, three-quarter-length, unframed

Portrait of Dr. Samuel Johnson and his wife, Elizabeth, three-quarter-length, seated, with a maidservant standing behind
oil on canvas
112.7 x 125.3cm (44 3/8 x 49 5/16in).
unframed

Dr. Johnson (1709–1784) the celebrated author and lexicographer first met Elizabeth Porter, née Jervis (1689–1752), and her husband, Harry Porter, when he changed his lodgings around June 1733, Elizabeth being a relative of his new landlord (also named Jervis). In September 1734 when Harry died, Johnson began to court the widow, who was twenty years his senior. The couple were married on 9 July 1735. We know little of the state of Johnson's marriage, apart from what may be gleaned from the cruel performances that the actor, David Garrick, later improvised to mimic the marital dealings of Samuel and Elizabeth. Hester Piozzi, who reported these 'comical scenes' in her Anecdotes, was not sure whether they were accurate. The present accomplished unfinished work most likely represents such a 'comical scene'. However, Johnson's reaction to Elizabeth's death, in 1752 at the age of sixty-three, is perhaps more eloquent than Garrick's second-hand account in which he mimicked a bibulous 'Tetty'. Greatly distressed, Johnson did not attend her funeral, yet wrote a sermon that was sadly not delivered. Taking its text from Saint John's gospel, he admitted that 'to show that grief is vain, is to afford very little comfort'. Johnson praised his wife for her devotion, patience, and kindness. Indeed, for the remainder of his days the writer composed special prayers in memory of his 'dear' wife, and on the last occasion, two years before his death, he wrote in his diary of the 'repentance' both partners had undergone for their faults and misdeeds.

Hugh Barron was apprenticed to Reynolds from circa 1764-66 and his earliest portraits are very close to that artist. Among his most highly regarded works, however, are his conversation pieces of circa 1768-80, which display the obvious influence of Zoffany.