John Linnell, 
British 1792-1882- 
Portrait of the Reverend Charles Gower Boyles, half-length,...

John Linnell, 
British 1792-1882- 

Portrait of the Reverend Charles Gower Boyles, half-length, wearing clerical dress; 

oil on panel, signed 'J Linnell. f' (upper left), bears old inscribed labels on the reverse, one reading 'Rev. Charles Gower Boyles / son of Admiral Boyles + / Mary Boyles Eldest daughter / of Capt James Hawker RN. / She was born 1764 + died 1857 / Charles G Boyles Rector of Buriton Hants / 1829 to 1845 died May 30th 1845', 32.3 x 24.5 cm. 

Provenance: 
Private Collection, UK. 

Literature: 
David Linnell, 'The Life of John Linnell', Sussex, 1994, p.378, no.177. 

Note: 
Linnell painted this portrait of Revered Boyles of Buriton, near Petersfield, Hants, in 1832 (D. Linnell, no.177). The artist's portrait of the mother of the present sitter, a Mrs Boyles (D. Linnell, no.178) was sold at Roseberys, London on 19 July 2023 for £3,200. 

Although now perhaps best-known for his dramatic and atmospheric landscapes, typically of the English countryside, Linnell initially established a reputation as a portraitist, and it is from his portraits that much of his fortune derived. The present work exhibits the tendencies which define Linnell's output in this realm, including the loose brushstrokes with which he evokes the fabric of the sitter's clothing, alongside the kindly expression and demeanour which he imparts to his subject. Linnell trained first under the eminent history painter Benjamin West (1738-1820), and then with John Varley (1778-1842). He was also closely associated with the artist Edward Thomas Daniell (1804-1842) and William Blake (1757-1827), to whom he acted as a close friend and patron.