Gordon, A.

Introduction:

A Gordon is known from one silhouette of a woman painted on glass, dated to the early 19th century. This profile is done in a rather individual style. Jackson records a silhouette painted on card by Gordon in her ‘Dictionary’. However, no examples of his work in this style are currently known.

Nothing is known of A Gordon’s life or professional career, except that he worked in Taunton, Somerset in the early 19th century. The existent profile painted on glass is quite unique for its period. Based on a marked finger-painted background, the face is shown in dead black and the sitter’s dress is shown in good detail; finer brush strokes indicate folds in the material, while the fashionable ruff is precisely drawn. Particularly interesting is the bust-line termination, with the double loop at the base of the curve not being coincident with the termination of the arm, as was typical. The silhouette is painted on large flat glass, backed by white card sufficiently distanced from the glass to throw a shadow – a popular contemporary effect. The example recorded by Jackson is of a man, painted on card and inscribed on the reverse 'Mr. Ware, Exd. by A. Gordon, Taunton Feb. 14th., 1814'. This inscription is the same as on the known glass-painted silhouette.