Artwork
Portrait of Lieutenant General Daniel Burr
Portrait of Lieutenant General Daniel Burr is an unspecified portrait miniature by the British Romanticist artist John Smart. It dates from 1799 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
About this work
You see a small, crisp portrait of a British officer in a red coat with gold trim. His face is calm, his wig powdered white.
Smart painted this while the officer was home on leave from India. The East India Company paid for it—25 guineas, a huge sum then. That tells you how much rank mattered.
Look up more portraits from england, 18th century.
Overview
This miniature portrait, executed in watercolor on ivory in 1799, presents Lieutenant General Daniel Burr, then serving as colonel of the 10th Madras Native Infantry. Measuring just over three inches, the work is signed by the artist John Smart and was shown at the Royal Academy exhibition of that year as entry number 784.
Subject & Meaning
Burr is rendered with a ruddy complexion, gray hair and brown eyes, dressed in a red military coat trimmed with orange velvet facings. A high white jabot and frilled collar frame his face, while a white, fringed epaulet bearing two gold stars rests on his left shoulder, signalling his rank and service in the East India Company.
Technique & Style
Smart employed the delicate brushwork typical of late‑18th‑century portrait miniatures, using fine layers of watercolor to achieve subtle flesh tones and the sheen of the officer’s uniform. The background is a muted grey, allowing the vivid red coat and gold detailing to stand out, while the gold frame and monogram on the reverse complement the work’s refined finish.
History & Provenance
The portrait was painted while Burr was on furlough in England between July 1798 and April 1799, a period documented by diarist Joseph Farington. After its Royal Academy debut, the miniature entered the collection of London goldsmith Benjamin Nathan; following his death, his heirs sold the piece, leading to its present ownership.
Context
John Smart’s fee of 25 guineas for this miniature far exceeded the rates of contemporaries such as George Engleheart and Richard Cosway, reflecting both the patron’s senior military position and the high demand for portrait miniatures among East India Company officers seeking to commemorate their status during periods of leave.
Artist & collection
Artist
John Smart (1 May 1741 – 1 May 1811) was an English painter who specialised in portrait miniatures. He was a contemporary of Richard Cosway, George Engleheart, William Wood and Richard Crosse.
