A gentleman attributed to Arthur Devis,
in oil on copper, circa 1735.

Set in the original silver pendant frame with scroll surmount and chased feather detail on the reverse.

2 inches (5.1 cm) high.

Arthur Devis, (1712-1787) an early exponent of small-scale conversation pieces, was one of the last major artists to paint oil miniatures. Devis served as President of the Free Society of Artists, exhibiting there from 1761-1780. The father of 22 children, his 19th child and student, Arthur William Devis succeeded his father as a master of the conversation group. Devis' enchanting works may be seen at the National Portrait Gallery, London, Tate Britain and the Yale British Art Center, which mounted an exhibition with catalogue, "The Conversation Piece - Arthur Devis and his Contemporaries."