From Library Journal
Smart, who died in 1992, leaving Ingamells to compile and edit his notes, essentially re-established the reputation of the talented portrait painter Allan Ramsay in two biographies in 1952 and 1992. Unappreciated since his death, Ramsay is now considered among the most important portraitists of 18th-century England. He painted from 1732 to 1770 in a restrained and dignified style, using delicate colors. His subjects included British royalty and people of social and intellectual standing such as David Hume and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. In addition to the 48 color reproductions of his portraits and more than 600 black-and-white illustrations in the catalogue raisonn? portion of the book, this volume includes a wealth of scholarly addenda: a list of Ramsay's identified sitters and of unidentified sitters in order of date; a list of his prices; a statistical survey of his portraits by size and sitter; indexes of painters, engravers, public collections, and sales; and more. This model of scholarship provides an example of how a catalogue raisonn? should be written. A beautifully produced volume for large public and academic libraries with an interest in British art.
-Martin Chasin, Adult Inst., Bridgeport, CT Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Book Description
This is the first complete catalogue of oil paintings by Allan Ramsay (1713-84), whose career spanned the period in which British art established a national identity. Ramsay was a well-educated Scotsman familiar with contemporary Italian and French portraiture, and his mature portraits, with their delicate coloring and subtle characterization, provide a most elegant episode in the history of British art.
More than six hundred portraits are catalogued in detail. Each is illustrated in black and white in a chronological sequence indicating, with the forty-eight color plates and selected relevant drawings, the full range of Ramsay's art. There is an introductory essay and biographical summary, a chronological list of portraits, statistical surveys of Ramsay's production and prices, and indexes of engravers and of sales.
