Artwork
Lord Robert Carteret (3rd Earl Granville)
Lord Robert Carteret (3rd Earl Granville) is a watercolor painting by John Smart. It dates from 1766 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Victoria.
About this work
Overview
The portrait measures only a few inches across, typical of the intimate miniature format popular among the British aristocracy in the mid‑eighteenth century.
John Smart’s 1766 miniature portrays Lord Robert Carteret, later the 3rd Earl Granville, rendered on a thin ivory support. The portrait measures only a few inches across, typical of the intimate miniature format popular among the British aristocracy in the mid‑eighteenth century. It is presently held by the National Gallery of Victoria, where it forms part of the museum’s collection of British portrait miniatures.
Subject & Meaning
The sitter is shown with white hair, wearing a blue coat trimmed with gold embroidery and a crisp white collar, set against a dark, indistinct background. The luxurious detailing of the garment and the dignified pose convey his high social rank and the conventions of aristocratic portraiture, emphasizing status, refinement, and personal identity within a private, portable format.
Technique & Style
Smart employed the traditional ivory miniature technique, applying fine layers of watercolor pigment to the smooth, translucent surface. His handling of light creates subtle modeling of facial features, while the gold‑threaded embroidery is suggested through delicate, precise brushwork. The work reflects the refined, neoclassical aesthetic shared by contemporaries such as Richard Cosby and George Engleheart, emphasizing clarity and elegance.
History & Provenance
Created in 1766, the portrait entered the collection of the National Gallery of Victoria through acquisition in the twentieth century, though earlier ownership records are sparse. John Smart, a leading English miniature painter of his generation, produced the piece during a prolific period when miniature portraiture served both as personal memento and as a symbol of elite patronage.
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.
Nahkuri Jakob Westin vanhempi
The Painter Louis Joseph Maurice (1730–1820)
Vapaaherra Johan Wilhelm Sprengtporten
Sir James Gray, 2nd Bt.
Arthur Freeman
Portrait of Jacques Necker (1732-1804)
Self-Portrait
Louis XVI of France when he was the Dauphin of France.
Portrait of a Man Wearing a Red Caftan
Portrait of Charles Auguste Bourlet de Vauxelles
William Henry Cavendish Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland