Daniel Maclise RA HRHA (1806-1870) An Adherent of the Stuart Oil on canvas, 43 x 30cm (17 x 11¾'') Signed and dated 1854 Born in Cork in early 1806, the son of a Scot, Alexander Mclish, Daniel...

Daniel Maclise RA HRHA (1806-1870) An Adherent of the Stuart Oil on canvas, 43 x 30cm (17 x 11¾'') Signed and dated 1854 Born in Cork in early 1806, the son of a Scot, Alexander Mclish, Daniel showed an early aptitude for drawing and by 1828 had commenced his studies at the Royal Academy in London. Much of his early years were spent drawing portraits, a skill which the artist developed to great acclaim over the course of his career. In London, he gained the acquaintance of many prominent literary men which developed in many cases into lasting friendships. He began to exhibit at the RA in 1829 and continued to exhibit many works there over several decades. By the age of thirty, Maclise had become firmly established as a painter; he was welcomed in the best literary and artistic societies in London and engaged the friendship of many of its leading members, particularly of Dickens and Forster. In 1844, Maclise was one of the six artists selected in the competition for the decoration of the Houses of Parliament, a task which he found exceptionally difficult and from which he resigned in the late 1850's. After the death of his sister Isabella, he withdrew himself from society and lived in solitude, refusing the presidency of the Royal Academy in 1866 and the offer of a knighthood. The present work dates to 1854, the same year as Maclise painted the monumental ''Marriage of Strongbow and Eva'' (National Gallery of Ireland). The Adherent of the Stuart is believed to have been purchased in Belfast in the 1920's and has been in the same family since. It is thought that it may have been a commission executed for a Scottish collector.

View more View less