James Reily c.1735-1778
Portrait of a Gentleman
Watercolour on ivory, oval, 3.9 x 3.3 cm.
Signed with initials and dated ‘I Reily/1764’
This portrait is typical of Reily’s clear and precise miniature painting technique which he developed by painting in tiny criss-crossing brushstrokes. The gentleman is dressed in a stylish military-cut coat which is decorated with gold embroidered frogging. The slightly exaggerated eyes and eyebrows are reminiscent of the work of Gustavus Hamilton (c.1739-1775) who was Reily’s friend and contemporary. Reily was from a poor family background and was educated at the Blue Coat School, in Blackhall Place, Dublin (1745-48). There he showed an aptitude for drawing and was awarded a studentship by the Dublin Society in 1748. This award paid his fees for lessons at Robert West's figure drawing school in George’s Lane. At the same time he was also apprenticed to Samuel Dixon (active 1748-69) at his studio in Capel Street where he was employed to hand colour basso-relievo prints of birds and flowers. Reily set up his practice as a miniaturist on Capel Street and later, at a fine house of his own, on Grafton Street where he attracted a fashionable clientele. His sudden death took place at Rochestown, near Slane, Co. Meath in August 1778. Reily’s obituary recorded that he had been the ‘most excellent painter in Miniature this country has produced’.
Paul Caffrey