Ozias Humphrey was born in the Devon region of England (1742-1810), and he painted oils, pastels, watercolors, and portrait miniatures in the latter part of the 18th century. He traveled widely, studying in London and Bath and receiving commissions on his way to exotic destinations like India and Italy. Arguably Humphrey’s best known work is the portrait in oils that was only recently attributed to him, referred to as The Rice Portrait. It was put up for auction at Christie’s in April of 2007, but interest did not surpass the minimum bid that was set. The owners rightly assumed that it should have great value given its intriguing story, although in a fluctuating economy like ours, it remains difficult to designate how much value. It’s no Octopussy Faberge egg, I suppose.
The auction was a newsworthy event, anyway, because Ozias Humphrey’s Rice Portrait is an important historical piece. The lovely full-length portrait depicting a young woman holding a green parasol and wearing a long princess-cut white dress with short sleeves and lace detailing is believed by some to be of Jane Austen (1775-1817). Others dispute this claim, saying the clothing style is off by a decade. The portrait had been reproduced as the frontispiece to the 1884 collection of her letters, which was published by Jane Austen’s great-nephew, Edward, Lord Brabourne. Ever since, it has been associated with the famed novelist.
The realistic oil painting portrays details such as the blush and sweet look of a lady’s face, the soft reflection on her slippers, and outlines of several features of landscape behind her. It covers a canvas sized 142.2 x 92.7cm (56 x 36.5 in). Interestingly, Humphrey originally painted portrait miniatures, but failing eyesight caused him to need to enlarge his medium of choice, as with the Rice Portrait. As well, if Humphrey did in fact come into contact with Jane Austen, she was not the only literary figure with whom he worked. William Blake both wrote letters to and commissioned paintings by Ozias Humphrey.
Author: Julie Ann