GEORGE ROMNEY (Dalton-in-Furness, Lancashire 1734 - 1802 Kendal) Portrait of monsieur Schaefer oil/canvas 76 x 63 cm ESTIMATE € 6000 - 10000 STARTING PRICE € 6000 The English painter George Romney was the son of the cabinet maker John Romney. The painter Peter Romney was his brother. Romney received his first artistic training in his father's workshop in Kendal. At the age of 17 he became a student of Christopher Steele. He founded his own studio in Kendal in 1756. Five years later, Romney went to London, where he made his career. In 1761 he went on a study trip through Italy with his colleague Ozias Humphry and stayed in Rome in 1773/75. By the time he returned to London in 1775, he was considered the most respected artist alongside Joshua Reynolds and Thomas Gainsborough. From this time on he lived in the former house of the artist Francis Cotes. From 1763 to 1772 Romney was able to show his works on a variety of occasions. His painting "The death of General Wolfe" was honoured by the Royal Academy of Arts; the Free Society and the Society of Artists invited him to exhibitions. In 1782 Romney met Emma Lyon, the future Lady Hamilton, whom he repeatedly portrayed. During this time he also created commissioned works for art dealer John Boydell's Shakespeare Gallery. Romney's famous art collection was also created in London. Much of the collection consisted of casts of antiquities from Rome created for Romney by the sculptor John Flaxman. PLEASE NOTE: The purchase price consists of the highest bid plus the buyer's premium, sales tax and, if applicable, the fee of artists resale rights. In the case of normal taxation (marked ° at the estimate), a premium of 24% is added to the highest bid. The mandatory sales tax is added to the sum of the highest bid and the buyer's premium. This amounts to 13% for paintings, drawings, graphic works and sculptures and 20% for photographs and all other items. The buyer's premium amounts to 28% in case of differential taxation. The sales tax is included in the differential taxation.