A gentleman by Samuel Shelley,
signed, circa 1785.

Set in the original gold locket frame, the glazed reverse revealing the artist's signature, S.Shelley/ Henrietta Street/ Cov: Garden.

2 inches (5.1 cm)high.

Samuel Shelley (1756-1808) who is called by Mrs. Foskett "an artist of considerable ability", painted miniatures, watercolors, drew book illustrations and engraved his own works. He exhibited at the Royal Academy 1774-1804, as well as the Society of Artists, the British Institution, and was a founding member of the Old Water Colour Society (later the Royal Society of Painters in Water Colour).