George, Prince of Wales

Maker Richard Cosway (British, 1742-1821)

ClassificationsPAINTINGS

Date1787

Mediumwatercolor on ivory

Dimensions3 1/2 x 2 3/4 in. (8.9 x 7 cm.)

DescriptionPortrait miniature housed in double-sided locket bordered with diamonds and diamond bow; on verso cobalt glass surround and central compartment containing hair reserve

SignedOn verso: R.C. 1787

InscribedSigned and dated on verso: R.C. 1787

Credit LineThe Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens

Status

Not on view

Label TextThese two miniatures of George IV when Prince of Wales show different aspects of the prince's self-presentation. In elegant Van Dyck regalia in the Cosway miniature, George allies himself with royal images of his predecessor Charles I. In ordinary, fashionable dress in the miniature attributed to Engleheart, George cultivated the image of himself as a fashionable dandy. While the Cosway portrait was most likely painted from life for the prince himself, the Engleheart miniature is probably a copy of another portrait, executed for sale to the collecting public.

Object number26.22