Richard Chase

Scottish miniaturist Charles Shirreff was one of the more talented and distinct of the many miniaturists active at the end of the 18th century. Shirreff, who became deaf at the age of three or four, studied at Thomas Braidwood’s Academy for the Deaf and Dumb, the first dedicated school for the deaf to be founded in Britain. At the age of 18, Shirreff moved to London to study at the Royal Academy Schools, graduating in 1772 with a silver medal. He quickly established himself as a miniaturist, while also exhibiting oil paintings, pastels and drawings at the Royal Academy, the Free Society of Artists and the British Institute.

Through his friendship with the Scottish merchant, diplomat and political satirist, Caleb Whitefoord, Shirreff made several advantageous acquaintances, including the president of the Royal Academy, Sir Joshua Reynolds and the leading miniaturist, Richard Cosway. These connections doubtless aided Shirreff in building a clientele that included the celebrated actress Sarah Siddons and her brother, the actor Charles Kemble. Shirreff was reportedly very fond of the theatre and some of his most successful miniatures show an actor or actress mis-en-scène.

In 1795, after several years working in Bath, Shirreff achieved a long-held ambition to go to India as an artist. He worked first in Madras (now Chennai) and later Calcutta (now Kolkata) before returning to London in 1809. While in India he purportedly developed a form of sign language he called his ‘finger alphabet’, but no example is known to survive.

This portrait of young Richard Chase was probably painted when Shirreff was working in Madras in around 1800. The miniature is painted in very fine, neat hatching and line work characteristic of the artist. Shirreff made no effort to flatter his sitters but has evidently taken delight in mirroring the loose curls of hair and frills of the collar in the swirls of cloud behind. He has used a strong, warm-coloured palette, seen in the boy’s pale orange tunic, golden hair and the stormy sky background. The sitter’s slightly prominent eyes are reminiscent of the work of another miniaturist, John Smart, who also practiced in Madras, and it is plausible that Shirreff was influenced by the work of his illustrious predecessor.