Lot 40: Henry Gibbs (1631-1713)

Portrait of Thomas Oxenden of Maydeken, Barham, aged 9, half-length, in a black coat with white collar and cuffs, holding a book in his right hand, feigned oval
with inscription 'Thomas filius J. Enrici Oxinden de Maydeken in Barham Armigeri June:8:1643.Ari. AEt:is 9. HE[in monogram]nricus Gibbs fecit. copied from the back of the original canvas' (on canvas relining)
oil on canvas
30 x 25 in. (76.2 x 63.5 cm.)

The only other known work signed by the artist is in the collection of Tate Britain, and depicts Aeneas and his family fleeing burning Troy, 1654.

Karen Hearn has noted of the artist that he was 'at various times both an alderman and mayor of Canterbury, Kent. He signed his own pedigree at the Heralds' Visitation of Kent, made in 1663, and a comparison of that signature with that on Aeneas and his family fleeing burning Troy confirms that they are by the same hand: in both, the 'H' and the 'e' in 'Henry' are elided, so that the 'e' disappears.' (Karen Hearn, 'An English gentleman painter, Henry Gibbs', The Burlington Magazine, February 1998, pp.99-101). The inscription recorded on the relining canvas of the present work also elides the 'H' with the 'e' in 'Henricus', suggesting that the copyist has been faithful to the artist's original inscription.

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.