Cut paper silhouette by Augustin Edouart (1789-1861): Isabella Lucas, 'Bath Character', cut black paper on paper support, 1827

Augustin Edouart (1789-1861) Isabella Lucas, 1826 Cut paper and ink wash Inscribed: Bath Character / Isabella Lucas, Aged 36 Yrs. born in Bath, Hawker of tin and ware goods &c. – Daugther [sic] of Elizabeth Smith Augustin Edouart arrived in England from his native France in 1814. Here he discovered a remarkable talent for freehand paper cutting. Over 25 years he produced more than 100,000 portraits in Britain and America. Edouart launched his commercial career in Bath around 1825. At Price’s Auction Rooms in Old Bond Street, he exhibited portraits that could be easily recognised: famous actors, local worthies and a series of ‘Bath Characters’. The Bath Characters were mostly street hawkers, familiar but anonymous figures around town. Edouart often wrote brief biographies alongside their portraits, turning them into individuals rather than anonymous features of the urban landscape. The 36-year-old tinware seller Isabella Lucas is one of the most charming, enhanced with a little ink wash to create the ground under her feet. She wears pattens (iron rings that strap on over shoes to keep them out of the mud) and a hooded cloak, and has a toasting fork and mouse-traps for sale. Ann Arter, a little older, carries two bulky baskets of fruit. Towards the end of his life, Edouart set sail homeward for France. His ship was wrecked off the coast of Guernsey, and with it several folios of silhouettes, his life’s work. About one in ten of the portraits was rescued, including these two sheets. They are still slightly stained from the sea water. Acquired in 2015 with the generous support of David Pike 2015.5