Original 1927 oil on canvas portrait by listed British portrait painter Thomas Alfred West (1864–1947), depicting Wm J. Smith Esq.
A finely painted head-and-shoulders portrait of a gentleman in a dark suit and tie, set against a restrained grey background. West has handled the face particularly well, with subtle modelling and an understated, dignified character typical of his commissioned portraiture.
The reverse is signed and inscribed “Wm J. Smith Esq / By T. Alfred West / 1927” and retains West's original printed studio label identifying him as a portrait painter of Wallasey.
Thomas Alfred West was born in Manchester in 1864 and spent much of his career in Liverpool and Wallasey. He studied at the Manchester and Liverpool Schools of Art and later studied sculpture and modelling in London under the French sculptor Édouard Lantéri. Beginning his career as a lithographic artist, West subsequently established himself as a portrait painter and exhibited at the Royal Academy, Royal Institute of Oil Painters, Royal Cambrian Academy and major exhibitions in Liverpool, Manchester and elsewhere. His sitters included prominent figures from politics, the church and industry.
West's work is represented in public collections, including the University of Liverpool, which holds his portrait of the architect and professor Sir Charles Herbert Reilly.
The painting remains unframed and is in good antique condition overall with general age-related surface marks, light abrasions and wear around the outer edges of the canvas. Please see photographs for condition.
Measures approximately 51 x 61.5 cm / 20.1 x 24.2 inches.
A finely painted head-and-shoulders portrait of a gentleman in a dark suit and tie, set against a restrained grey background. West has handled the face particularly well, with subtle modelling and an understated, dignified character typical of his commissioned portraiture.
The reverse is signed and inscribed “Wm J. Smith Esq / By T. Alfred West / 1927” and retains West's original printed studio label identifying him as a portrait painter of Wallasey.
Thomas Alfred West was born in Manchester in 1864 and spent much of his career in Liverpool and Wallasey. He studied at the Manchester and Liverpool Schools of Art and later studied sculpture and modelling in London under the French sculptor Édouard Lantéri. Beginning his career as a lithographic artist, West subsequently established himself as a portrait painter and exhibited at the Royal Academy, Royal Institute of Oil Painters, Royal Cambrian Academy and major exhibitions in Liverpool, Manchester and elsewhere. His sitters included prominent figures from politics, the church and industry.
West's work is represented in public collections, including the University of Liverpool, which holds his portrait of the architect and professor Sir Charles Herbert Reilly.
The painting remains unframed and is in good antique condition overall with general age-related surface marks, light abrasions and wear around the outer edges of the canvas. Please see photographs for condition.
Measures approximately 51 x 61.5 cm / 20.1 x 24.2 inches.