John Downman A.R.A 1750-1824 Welsh School 18th.Century. Portrait of a Gentleman, Stephen Payne Gallwey, depicted half-length, a pillar beyond. Initialled and dated lower right 1781. Black chalk stump and watercolour, oval, 8 x 6 1/2 inches. Inscribed with sitters details to reverse.
Stephen Payne Gallwey, 1750-1803. Brother of Sir William Payne Gallwey 1st. Baronet was himself a wealthy landowner in Norfolk and St Kitts. He was a prominent member of the Dilletanti Society, and is depicted to the centre of Sir Joshua Reynolds' famous group portrait of the Society.
The Society of Dilettanti founded 1734 is an exclusive society of noblemen and scholars that sponsors the study of ancient Greek and Roman art, and the creation of new work in that style. In 1743 Horace Walpole condemned its affectations and described it as "... a club, for which the nominal qualification is having been in Italy, and the real one, being drunk" It was closely associated with Brooks's, one of London's most exclusive gentlemen's clubs.