Description

Full length, three quarter turned portrait of a young man wearing a brown coat and breeches holding an oversized curved cricket bat. Behind him, to the right, is a painted cricket scene.

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R. Scaddon Portrait of William Rice (1744) Oil on canvas Full length portrait of William Rice fashionably dressed in brown coat and breeches holding an oversized curved cricket bat. The bat lends itself particularly well to acting as a prop and the scenery backdrop depicting a cricket match adds to a sense of this portrait being carefully staged. Little is known either about the sitter or artist. A William Rice was clerk of works at Hampton Court for a considerable period around this time, though there is no specific information to link him to this picture. Robert Scaddon is known for several other works though these are on a far smaller scale. Despite its relative obscurity the picture is of merit not least because it is one of the earliest portraits to depict cricketing equipment and include a cricketing scene. MCC Collection: purchased, 1933 TN.2009.2371