JOSEPH WRIGHT OF DERBY (DERBY 1734 - 1797) Portrait of a young lady in a feather hat and a blue dress, bust length oil on canvas 77 x 64 cm (30 1/4 x 25 1/4 in) PROVENANCE: Private Collection, Germany; Sydney Seymour-Lucas, Suffolk, UK Dating from the early 1750s, and newly attributed to Joseph Wright of Derby, the present work is a particularly fine example of the artist’s early portrait style. Portrayed in a feigned oval, the commanding pose and graceful air of the sitter reflects the influence of the London painter Thomas Hudson, in whose studio Wright worked from 1751-153, while the subtle use of light and shade that model the young lady’s features announces the style of Wright’s later works. Lit from the right, Wright defines the format of the composition with the theatrical plumes of the sitter’s hat at the top of the canvas and the tulle-like fabric of her sleeves to left and right to create a triangular focus. Within these confines he decorates the young girl with a string of pearls that fall languorously around her face and neck to her bosom, and the semi-precious stones that descend from her shoulders to provocatively trace the décolletage of her dress. Although the sitter is yet to be identified, the dress, pearls and jewels compare to those worn in the Lady of the Chomley family’s portrait painted by Wright in 1755, suggesting that the clothes may be studio clothing, and the sitter possibly a model, the present work being used by the young Wright to show his abilities and tout for portrait commissions from prospective clients. We are grateful to Brian Allen for confirming the attribution of the present work to Joseph Wright of Derby.