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Title
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Portrait of George Augustus Polgreen Bridgetower
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Description
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George Augustus Polgreen Bridgetower was born at Biala in Poland. The present drawing of him is apparently the only one to survive from his early years in London. It is the size of a large miniature, and in this and the sketchy finish around the edges but attention paid to the face, it is similar to some of Cosway's drawings of celebrities, such as Mrs Jordan [6.31]. The result is a focus on Bridgetower's celebrity as a black child prodigy, rather than on his skills at the violin. It appears from his age in the portrait to date from his first years in England, around 1790, which would fit with Edridge's style at this period when he was moving from miniature to larger pencil portraits.
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date created
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1795-1800
