Nature, Leaning on the Sarcophagus of Shakespeare, Crowns Genius

1773

John Hamilton Mortimer English, 1741-1779

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Provenance

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Published References

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Catalogue Raisonné

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About the Artwork

Title Nature, Leaning on the Sarcophagus of Shakespeare, Crowns Genius

Artwork Date 1773

Artist John Hamilton Mortimer

Life Dates 1741-1779

Nationality Please note: Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events. Some definitions include: Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation. English

Culture Please note: Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group. ----------

Medium Pen and brown ink on buff antique laid paper

Dimensions Sheet: 9 × 8 inches (22.9 × 20.3 cm)

Classification Drawings

Department Prints, Drawings & Photographs

Credit Gift of Dr. Frederick J. Cummings

Accession Number This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection. Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings. For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups. F1983.243

Markings

Inscriptions Inscribed, in pen and brown ink, verso: Nature leaning on the Sarcophagas [sic] of Shakespeare, | crowns Genius with Laurel, for guarding her most | Exquisite Fruits (plac'd on an Altar, decocarated [sic] with The = | atrical Emblems) from the Rapaciousnes of the Harpies of | Envy, &; &. -- | Frontispiece to Lloyds Epistle to Dd. Garrick Esq. | done by J. Mortimer Esq. | S [?]. Shelley | Feb.y 12.73 Inscribed, in pencil, verso, lower left: Pu Inscribed, in pencil, verso, along lower left edge: 60 [in partial circle] Inscribed, in pencil, verso, lower right: B3. | 497 | 50 - 18 = 1 Inscribed, in pencil, on mat, lower right: John Hamilton Mortimer| coll. Leonard Baskin--

Provenance

by 1923, Randall Davies (London, England).
H. C. Green.
Alister Mathews (Bournemouth, England).
by 1968, Mr. and Mrs. Leornard Baskin (Northampton, Massachusetts, USA).
1973, Dr. Frederick J. Cummings (Detroit, Michigan, USA);
1983-present, gift to the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

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Exhibition History

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The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.

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Published References

Davies, Randall. Chats on Old English Drawings. London, 1923, p. 209 [as by J.H. Mortimer].

Nicolson, Benedict. John Hamilton Mortimer ARA, 1740-1779: Paintings, Drawings and Prints Exh. cat., Towner Art Gallery. Eastbourne and London, 1968, p. 44, no. 83 [as Frontispiece to Evan Lloyd's Epistle to David Garrick by John Hamilton Mortimer].

Sunderland, John. "John Hamilton Mortimer, His Life and Works." The Walpole Society 52 (1986): p. 152 (fig. 150), no. 73a, p. 152 [as copy by an unknown artist after Mortimer's etched Frontispiece to Evan Lloyd's 'Epistle to David Garrick'].

Italian, French, English, and Spanish Drawings and Watercolors: Sixteenth Through Eighteenth Centuries. New York, 1992, pp. 342-343, no. A97.

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Catalogue Raisoneé

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Credit Line for Reproduction

John Hamilton Mortimer, Nature, Leaning on the Sarcophagus of Shakespeare, Crowns Genius, 1773, pen and brown ink on buff antique laid paper. Detroit Institute of Arts, Gift of Dr. Frederick J. Cummings, F1983.243.