James Gandy (1619–1689) was an English portrait-painter, one of the earliest native English painters.
Life
Gandy was probably a native of
Exeter
Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol.
In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...
. He is said to have been a pupil of
Anthony van Dyck
Sir Anthony van Dyck (, many variant spellings; 22 March 1599 – 9 December 1641) was a Brabantian Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England after success in the Southern Netherlands and Italy.
The seventh c ...
, and to have acquired some of his style; he may have painted the drapery in Van Dyck's pictures. In 1661 he was taken to Ireland by his patron, the
Duke of Ormonde, and remained there until his death. He was father of
William Gandy
William Gandy (1655 or 1660–1729), was an English portrait-painter.
Life
Gandy, son of James Gandy, was probably born in Ireland. For some years he was an itinerant painter in Devon and the west of England. He went to Plymouth in 1714, an ...
.
Works
He executed a number of copies of portraits by Van Dyck for the duke's collection at
Kilkenny
Kilkenny (). is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2016 census gave the total population of Kilkenny as 26,512.
Kilken ...
, some of which were sold at the dispersal of the collection, as original works. His principal portraits were done in Ireland, and remained there. One of the Duke of Ormonde was in the possession of the Earl of Leicester.
Further reading
*
Baring-Gould, Sabine,
Devon Characters and Strange Events', London, 1908, Preface, p.vii
References
*
;Attribution
1619 births
1689 deaths
17th-century English painters
English male painters
Artists from Exeter
English portrait painters
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