George James (London Fl. 1755-1795 Boulogne)

Portrait of two young girls in a wooded landscape, standing full-length, one attaching a red collar on a seated white whippet and the other holding her pet black and white rabbit. Circa 1765.

Oil on canvas in a period giltwood frame.

127.5 x 102.2 cm. 

James was considered to be at his best in the 1760's and '70's when he was painting family portraits such as this particularly charming and playful example of his work. Although the identities of the sitters are currently unknown, they are likely to be daughters from a wealthy family, given their fashionably fine clothes and matching red slippers with their pets conveying a sense of refinement and high status. Other comparable works include his portrait of Emily and Georgina Mason with a lamb and cockatoo (Sotheby's, London, April  1996) and his portrait of Mary and Martha Spier with a spaniel (Sotheby's, London, July 1980).

George James was born in London, and studied for some time in Rome. He established himself in Dean Street, Soho, London, and became a member of the Incorporated Society of Artists, exhibiting with them from 1761 to 1768.

In 1764 he exhibited a painting called 'The Death of Abel.'  In 1770 James was elected an associate of the Royal Academy, and up to 1779 was a regular contributor of portraits to its exhibitions.

 Having inherited property in Soho, London and marrying a woman of some fortune, James was financially independent of his profession. In 1780 he moved to Bath, where he continued painting portraits and in 1789 and 1790 again exhibited at the Royal Academy.

Later he retired to Boulogne, where he died early in 1795, after suffering imprisonment during the French Revolution.