Available now is this absolutely phenomenal oil painting on canvas by the famous English victorian portrait / genre painter George Adolphus Storey. Depicting a young beautiful female playing a 19th century guitar this portrait is titled by the artist “My Fair Musician” accompanied by a sweet short poem he wrote which reads, “O, my love is like the melodic that’s sweetly played in tune”. The title / poem of this painting can be found catalogued in “The Royal Academy of Arts; a complete dictionary of contributors and their work from its foundation in 1769 to 1904” which has also been archived and made available scanned online. Storey was an RA at the Royal Academy and for this reason all his completed works were recorded giving this painting excellent provenance and origin. Executed in 1897 this work is initialed in the lower right corner and has accompanied verso by a paper label which reads “G. A. Storey Esq. aRa Broadhurst Gdn. 1444”. Broadhurst Garden is located in London and could have possibly been where Storey was living during this period. Other paper labels are present but are illegible, see labels photographed.

The quality of the painting is exceptional from the brushwork to color choice in this aesthetically pleasing genre portrait. The “Fair Musician” wears an eye catching warm pink ruffled silk blouse in contrast to the tall blue screen decorated with white dogwood flowers behind. Her complexion is soft and warm with her rosy checks as we see her in side profile as she gazes down to the propped sheet music on the table below. A fine hand woven table cover / rug is thrown over the round top table adding another level of complexity showing off even better the artist mastery of George with its intricate design. Two little yellow flowers sit in a translucent glass vase next to a contrasting red book also matching the seat she’s sitting on. Past the screen to the right offers a slight view into another room showing a Victorian interior genre scene oil painting on the wall above a wooden chair and decorated tiles located at the base of the wall.

The seated subject has exceptionally well painted delicate fingers with one hand grasping the base of the guitars neck while the other hand appears to be adjusting a tuning peg. Please take some time to notice how exquisite the brushworks is in this painting especially located in the subjects complexion and ruffled blouse material. Interestingly enough it appears that the artist made an adjustment to the placement of her left hand indicated by the pentimento brush work seen surrounding it which may also possibly be true for the size of the sheet music which may have been adjusted.

The condition of the work is absolutely wonderful having just been professionally restored having a good surface cleaning and new varnish applied. In addition to the cleaning three little patches were made, visible verso, with slight in-painting done in fully reversible archival pigment. The frame which is original to the painting is an outright stunner in excellent condition crafted from extremely heavy solid wood decorated with an intricate gold gesso floral design. The work has an appropriate amount of craquelure present with all signs indicating this work has been taken extremely well care of over its lifespan of the last 120+ years. This museum quality 19th century portrait is by far one of George Adolphus Storey’s finest paintings making it a perfect example of his Victorian genre portrait mastery. The images provided accurately represent the quality, condition and aesthetic beauty but if you have any questions please feel free to ask prior to purchasing!