This painting shows three men and one dog in an outdoor setting. To the left of center is a seated man looking out at us, wearing a blue coat and pants with gold trim, a red vest, white stockings, and black shoes, his curled gray hair under a black tricorn hat. Leaning against a tree behind the seated man is another man who wears a gray coat and vest with tan pants and tall, knee-length black boots. He holds a long, thin stick in one hand and a black tricorn hat in the other. This man has gray-brown hair that is also curled. He looks to the right, where the third man stands. The man on the right wears a blue-and-gray coat with gold trim, a gray vest, white stockings, and black shoes, with curled gray hair. He holds a black tricorn hat in one hand and uses the other hand to point towards the seated man. All three men have pale skin. A brown-and-white dog stands next to the seated man, its head resting on the man's thigh. The background consists of a green landscape with tall trees, distant gray buildings, and ships on the blue water in the distance. The sky above is light blue with a few wispy white clouds.
Read the visual description

This painting shows three men and one dog in an outdoor setting. To the left of center is a seated man looking out at us, wearing a blue coat and pants with gold trim, a red vest, white stockings, and black shoes, his curled gray hair under a black tricorn hat. Leaning against a tree behind the seated man is another man who wears a gray coat and vest with tan pants and tall, knee-length black boots. He holds a long, thin stick in one hand and a black tricorn hat in the other. This man has gray-brown hair that is also curled. He looks to the right, where the third man stands. The man on the right wears a blue-and-gray coat with gold trim, a gray vest, white stockings, and black shoes, with curled gray hair. He holds a black tricorn hat in one hand and uses the other hand to point towards the seated man. All three men have pale skin. A brown-and-white dog stands next to the seated man, its head resting on the man's thigh. The background consists of a green landscape with tall trees, distant gray buildings, and ships on the blue water in the distance. The sky above is light blue with a few wispy white clouds.

National Gallery of Art · Painting

Arthur Holdsworth Conversing with Thomas Taylor and Captain Stancombe by the River Dart

Arthur Devis

Date
1757
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
overall: 127.6 x 102.1 cm (50 1/4 x 40 3/16 in.) framed: 144.8 x 119.7 x 6.3 cm (57 x 47 1/8 x 2 1/2 in.)
Classification
Painting
Accession number
1983.1.40
Credit line
Paul Mellon Collection
Time span
1751 to 1775
Department
CAB

Subjects and terms

  • painted surface
  • British
  • British Paintings of the Sixteenth through Nineteenth Centuries
  • group
  • portrait
  • Holdsworth, Arthur
  • Stancombe, Captain
  • Taylor, Thomas
Provenance

Painted for Arthur Holdsworth [1733-1777], Mount Gilpin and Widdicombe House, Kingsbridge, Devon; by descent to Captain Frederick Holdsworth; (sale, Christie, Manson & Woods, London, 22 April 1921, no. 2, bought in); by descent to his sister, Mrs. Cuthbert Lucas; (sale, Christie, Manson & Woods, London, 6 November 1959, no. 71, repro.); (Thos. Agnew & Sons, London); sold 1960 to Paul Mellon, Upperville, Virginia; gift 1983 to NGA.

Inscription

lower center: Arth: Devis fe 1757 [the last digit almost illegible]

NGA object ID 61390. Collection metadata is reproduced under CC0. This work is included because its NGA published-image record is marked open access; visitors should recheck the source record before substantial reuse.