The Chalk Writer
Maker
(Artists)
1745-1806
1745-1806
Title
The Chalk Writer
Date of Production
(circa) 1788
Medium
medium : material : pastel; support : material : paper (mounted on canvas)
Dimensions
Height: 45.5 cm (canvas)
Width: 39.5 cm (canvas)
Width: 39.5 cm (canvas)
Accession Number
D.1945.XX.3
Mode of Acquisition
Joan Evans, bequest, 1945
Credit
The Courtauld, London (Samuel Courtauld Trust)
Copyright
Work in the public domain
Location
Not currently on display
Label Text
In 1789, John Russell presented this pastel in his first exhibition as a full member of the Royal Academy. It shows a man wearing an artist’s cap resting against a slab of slate on which he has written the initials GR with white chalk in beautiful calligraphic script. With this reference to King George III, Russell pays tribute to the monarch and openly appeals for royal patronage. Celebrated as Britain’s leading pastellist, he juxtaposes the purely linear mark of the chalk writer with his own skilful lifelike modelling.
Provenance
Dr Joan Evans; bequest 1945.
Exhibition History
Drawings Gallery Display - Unseen, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 15/01/2015-29/03/2015
Creative Quarters, Museum of London, 28/03/2001-15/07/2001
Creative Quarters, Museum of London, 28/03/2001-15/07/2001
Literature
Whitlum-Cooper, Francesca, 'The Chalk Writer', unpublished MA essay, Courtauld Institute of Art, 2009
Creative Quarters, Museum of London, 2001
Creative Quarters, Museum of London, 2001
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