Lot 99: Diana Hill (née Dietz) (British, d.1844)

An unfinished portrait of a Gentleman, wearing coat, waistcoat, frilled shirt and tied cravat, his hair powdered and worn en queue
gold frame
Oval, 70mm. (2 3/4ins.) high

This unfinished portrait by Hill must have been executed prior to her marriage in circa 1785. The costume that the gentleman wears and the fact that the portrait is unsigned support this, as her early work is often without a signature. Hill went to India in 1785 where she gained many commissions, her popularity prompting Ozias Humphry, also trying to make a living in India, to say that he would 'rather all the male painters in England landed in Bengal than this single woman'.