Thomas Hickey 18th.Century Irish School Oil Portrait Of A Young Woman With Fashionable Hairstyle Circa.1770

Thomas Hickey 1741-1824 Irish School 18th.Century. Oil on canvas Portrait of a young woman wearing a blue dress and a very fashionable hairstyle. Dateable to Circa.1770. 24 by 29 cms to image. 33 by 38cms overall framed.

An Irish painter. Born in Dublin, Hickey studied at the Royal Dublin Society. Primarily a portraitist he travelled widely, working in India, Portugal, Italy and England, residing in Bath between 1776 and 1780. On his voyage to India, the vessel in which he was travelling was captured by French and Spanish fleets which led him to Lisbon, where, after receiving a number of commissions, he remained for several years. He eventually reached Bengal and stayed there until 1791 when he returned to England. He then journeyed to China with George Macartney, 1st Earl Macartney as the expedition''s official portrait painter. By 1798 he had returned to India where he landed just in time for the start of the Fourth Mysore War, which kept him engaged in painting. He resided in Madras until his death in 1824. In addition to his artistic talents, he is reputed to have been a sparkling conversationalist who rarely failed to charm his sitters.