Halcyon Days

Portrait of Benjamin Gibbons Seated, with a view of Eton College Beyond

Octavius Oakley RWS, 1800-1867

Watercolor and body color, signed

c. 1838

16 1/2 X 11 1/4 inches (36.8 x 28.6 cm inches (38 x 34 cm)

The present picture was commissioned by John Gibbons I (1777-1851) whilst his son Benjamin was at Eton College and the family was still living in Edgbaston. It was during the fifteen years that preceded the family's move to York Terrace, London, in 1844 that marked the most energetic period of picture buying and patronage. The present work stayed with the family until earlier this year [2001].

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