A fascinating and rather enigmatic new acquisition is now on permanent display at the Hunterian Art Gallery.

The significant acquisition was purchased last year with support from the Art Fund and the National Fund for Acquisitions. Titled Portrait of an artist, possibly a self-portrait, the oil painting now has pride of place in the main gallery Enlightenment bay.

Thought to be a self-portrait, the work shows a young artist, who was probably a student of the Royal Academy in the time of The Hunterian’s founder, Dr William Hunter.

The artist is shown leaning his elbow on a table, pausing from work in thought. Next to him we see his paper and porte-crayon as well as a miniature anatomical figure used by students to practice drawing the muscles of the body. The figure is a cast modelled on the life-size version Dr Hunter created for his anatomical demonstrations.

Its presence is a valuable clue to the identity of the young painter as it places him in the circle of the Royal Academy. Bronze statuettes like the one in the painting became an essential tool for students in the mid-1760s and an example is on display beside the portrait.

The painting has recently been attributed to English painter and engraver William Doughty (1757–1782), a Yorkshireman who studied at the Royal Academy in London and lodged with its President, Sir Joshua Reynolds, from 1775-8.

Considered to be one of the most gifted young artists of his generation, and one of Reynold’s most talented pupils, Doughty’s career was cut tragically short when he died of unknown causes in 1782, aged just 24.

First published: 3 February 2015

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