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| Title | Wilhelm Cramer | |
| Collection | Royal College of Music, London | |
| Artist | Davison, William (British painter, active 1813-1843) Attributed to after Hickel, Anton (German painter, 1745-1798) Previously attributed to British School Previously attributed to Gainsborough, Thomas (English painter and draftsman, 1727-1788) |
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| Date Earliest | about 1770 | |
| Date Latest | about 1780 | |
| Description | Wilhelm Cramer (1745-1799) became a violinist and composer. In this portrait he is shown playing the violin. He was born in Mannheim and came to London in 1772 on the invitation of J. C. Bach. He led the Handel Commemoration Concerts in Westminster Abbey in 1784 and 1787. The painting is attributed to the German painter Anton Hickel. Born in Vienna, Hickel gained his reputation as a portrait painter. He became court painter to Josef II, Holy Roman Emperor and then travelled to Paris where his patron was Marie Antoinette. In 1789 he came to London where he again soon established a considerable reputation, painting a number of politicians of the day, including William Pitt and Charles James Fox. | |
| Current Accession Number | None | |
| Subject | portrait (Cramer, Wilhelm) | |
| Measurements | 92 x 72 cm (estimate) | |
| Material | oil on canvas | |
| Acquisition Details | Purchased at auction 1974. | |
| Provenance | In the collection of William Hill by 1904 (?); Private Collection by 1974; Christie's, London, 19 December 1974, lot 1 as English School. | |
| Principal Exhibitions | Music Loan Exhibition, Fishmonger's Hall, London, 1904, nn., p. 228 lent by W. E. Hill & Sons as by William Davison. | |
| Publications | An Illustrated Catalogue of the Music Loan Exhibition, Fishmonger's Hall, London, 1909, p. 228. | |
| Notes | This painting was described as 'English School' in the 1974 auction catalogue although a note on the file at the RCM notes that it was described as by Thomas Gainsborough in the catalogue. It is also recorded in this note on the file that the painting came from the collection of W. E. Hill & Sons and was exhibited in 1904. However, there is no note of this work ever being in the Hill collection in the auction catalogue. | |
| Rights Owner | Royal College of Music, London | |
| Author | Dr Madeleine Korn | |