Object number
M.2008.22
Title
The Young Cricketer, Portrait of Lewis Cage
Date
1768 - 1768
Creator
Material
Size
Ht x W: 182 x 123 cm
Description
Full length, frontal portrait of a young boy standing by a makeshift two stump wicket. Wearing an unbuttoned green waistcoat and breeches. Holding a long curved bat which was used in the mid-1700s. Mounted in a gilt 18th century neo-Classical fluted hollow frame.
Display caption
The Young Cricketer, Portrait of Lewis Cage, 1768
Francis Cotes, R.A. (1726-1770)
Oil on canvas
The boy’s lightly grazed knee and unbuttoned finery suggests he is fresh from a game. He stands victorious next to a makeshift wicket holding a bat inscribed ‘Lewis Cage Aged 5’. His confident pose and adult clothing suggest greatness beyond his years – a common theme in portraits of children around this time.
Little is known of the sitter, Lewis Cage, although he is mentioned in correspondence by Jane Austen, and had strong connections with cricket’s heartland of Kent. Three different versions of this picture have been hung at Lord’s during the last century and in 2008 MCC acquired the original.
Painted by British artist and illustrator Francis Cotes, the picture shows the link between life and play, hard work and success. Cotes was Director of the Society of Artists and founding member of the Royal Academy. He lived and worked in Marylebone around the time this picture was painted.
MCC Collections: Purchased, 2008
M.2008.22
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