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I'm thrilled to be listing this beautiful painted silhouette by Edward Foster, which illustrates the monumental silhouettes book by Sue McKechnie.  This handsome young boy represents Foster's black profiles.  McKechnie uses him to illustrate the details for dating silhouettes of young boys by the styles of their clothing and hair.  She gives this boy's age as about twelve years old.  He wears his hair in the à la Brutus style worn by men circa 1810.  His narrow shirt frill is turned down at the neck and his tail-coat is a similar style as those worn by men at the time.  This would mean that the boy had been breeched (graduated into men's style clothing), making him about 12.

This painted silhouette well represents Foster's "black profiles" in which he applied the black paint thinly then added detail with pigment added to gum arabic.  The frills of shirts were left without pigment (as in this silhouette).  This 5 3/8" x 6 3/8" papier mâché frame is topped with one of Foster's trademark brass hangers bearing his name about the Royal crown.  This handsome young boy illustrates McKechnie's book in plate 252 at page 176.  Circa 1811-1814.  The back of the frame bears the remnants of McKechnie's collection stamp, unfortunately mostly removed by some misguided soul.

(#4550)     $1250

Provenance:  ex-Sue McKechnie

Publication:  McKechnie, Sue, British Silhouette Artists and their Work 1760-1860 (Sotheby Parke Bernet 1978) at plate 252, page 176.

References:  McKechnie, supra at 400-405, plates 772-794 at 475-479.

                  Peter Seddon, Derbyshire Life Magazine, July 2009 at 170-173.

                  Brett Payne, Edouart Foster, silhouettist - Part 2 at Photo Sleuth-blog

Please see the Silhouettist Biographies page for more information about Foster.

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