Richard Samuel (d.1786) attr., portrait of Ann Comyn, circa 1775, a young girl depicted three...

Richard Samuel (d.1786) attr., portrait of Ann Comyn, circa 1775, a young girl depicted three quarter length in three quarter profile, wearing a pink dress and sash with organza, a bullfinch perching on her raised right hand, standing against a pillar beside a marble topped table with bird perch, oil on canvas, later inscribed verso to the later stretcher 'Ann Comyn c.1769-1798 Painted by Richard Samuel 'Jinx'[sic]. Damaged but restored August 1970', with old handwritten ownership label 'Evelyn O'Flahertie Ross', 29" x 24.25" (74cm x 61.5cm), wax reline, in a late 18th or early 19th century gadroon-moulded gilt-pine frame.
Provenance: Richard Samuel was twice awarded the Society of Artists prize for best historical drawing. His most famous work depicted nine 'Bluestockings' (intellectual women) as 'Nine Living Muses of Great Britain' in 1778. He exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1772 to 1779, then becoming Assistant Secretary to the Academy in that year. He published 'On the Utility of Drawing and Painting' in 1786. His works can be found in the National Portrait Gallery and Tate Gallery.