ENGLISH SCHOOL, 19TH CENTURY

Footnote
Inscribed on an old label attached to the reverse ' The Great Grandfather (mother's side of my children)/ The portrait of Mr Charles Brown in the dress of an Oxford volunteer  at the time of Napoleon 1st/ Mr Charles Brown - who lived all his life at Oxford was a well-to-do wine merchant/ His Daughter Harriet Ann Brown, married Henry Sullivan Whitaker, the father of my beloved wife Harriet/ Joseph Leete 3rd May 1892'

Joseph Leete (1831-1898) was a successful merchant specialising in the export of goods from England to France following the Cobden-Chevalier treaty of 1860 which promoted free-trade between the recently hostile countries; he was awarded the Legion d'Honneur in 1881.

Condition report

Original canvas.  Minor traces of dirt to the paint surface, otherwise sound.  Ultraviolet reveals no sign of retouching.  Held in the original frame with some losses to moulding and scuffing to gilt slip.