December 10-13, 2024 Firearms & Militaria
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 12/10/2024
Oil on canvas, 30 x 25 in.; within giltwood and composition frame. The son of a London merchant, James Pattison (1723-1805) entered the Royal Artillery Regiment in 1740 as a gentleman-cadet, being one of the first officers professionally educated in that arm by the newly established Royal Military Academy at Woolwich. He served at Ghent in 1742 and at the close of the Seven Years War commanded companies of the Royal Artillery sent to serve in Portugal. In 1777, Pattison was appointed colonel commandant of the 4th Battalion, then serving in North America. Arriving in New York, he assumed command of all artillery troops in America, with the rank of brigadier general, effective 24 September 1777. During the 1779 expedition that took Kings Ferry, he commanded the forces which took the western bank citadel of Stony Point, whose defenses he subsequently improved. Pattison’s “judicious exertions” led to his appointment as “Commandant of the City and Garrison of New York” on July 5, 1779 by Sir Henry Clinton, a position he held concurrently with his role as artillery commander until 13 August 1780 with the rank of major general. Pattison excelled in his new civil-military responsibilities, until ill health forced him to return to England on 4 September 1780. This half-length portrait was probably commissioned shortly after Pattison was promoted to Lieutenant General and Commandant of the Royal Artillery Regiment in 1785. The artist, Lemuel "Francis" Abbott (1760-1802) was an English portrait painter, famous for his likeness of Admiral Horatio Nelson, other naval and military officers and literary figures of the 18th century. He was born Lemuel Abbott in Leicestershire and moved to London to become a pupil of Francis Hayman, but returned to his parents after his teacher's death in 1776. There he continued to develop his artistic talents independently, although some authorities have suggested that he may also have studied with Joseph Wright of Derby. In 1780, he returned to London, where he exhibited frequently at the Royal Academy. Provenance: Provenance: with M. Bernard, London, 1961; anonymous sale, Sotheby’s, New York, 3 November 1983 (lot 184); private collection.