Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection
Copyright Status:
Public Domain
Accession Number:
B1981.25.166
Gallery Label:
Francis Cotes was one of the most gifted practitioners in the demanding medium of pastel and one of the most significant portrait painters of the 1760s. In the latter part of the decade, he painted a number of portraits depicting fashionably dressed boys posing with cricket bats. These paintings reveal the growing popularity of the sport among the wealthy class, as only those with money could afford to purchase a proper cricket bat. Charles Collyer (1755–1830) was the second son of Daniel Collyer of London and Wroxham, Norfolk, and his wife, Anne Leeds. Charles was educated at Eton and, as a teenager, made the Grand Tour to Italy, where he met the architect John Soane, who later designed his home, Gunthorpe Hall in Norfolk. He was ordained in 1796 and became rector of the parish of Gunthorpe two years later, a post he held until his death. Gallery label for installation of YCBA collection, 2016
