George L. Seymour A North African man

Brown wash heightened with bodycolour over traces of pencil
Sight size 12 x 8 cm; 4 ¾ x 3 ¼ inches

Framed in the original gilt moulding 30.5 x 23.5 cm.; 12 x 9 1/4 inches

The artist studied in Paris with William Bouguereau and Jean-Léon Gérome. He exhibited both in Paris and at the Royal Academy and Society of British Artists in London where he lived in St John’s Wood. He also exhibited his work with the London dealers Vicars Brothers.

Seymour specialized in Orientalist work, taking his cue from Gérome, and may be presumed to have visited North Africa from where the majority of his Orientalist subjects are taken. He favoured working in brown washes which he worked up with bodycolour to achieve an intense and dramatic finish.