Mr Nathl Oldham – 1730

Mr Nathl Oldham Mezzotint by John Faber published 1730-50. Nathanial Oldham of Middlesex was a noteworthy character who served with the British Army in India and ‘inherited a fortune which allowed him to indulge his love of field sports and fine art’ (Tate Gallery). The print by Faber is after an oil by Highmore, which is now lost, Highmore and Oldham enjoying a friendship described as ‘very intimate’ (Einberg Edgerton, p. 48). Oldham was a compulsive collector, he spent his vast fortune assembling a variety of objects including natural history specimens which early reports describe as ‘whimsical gimcracks’ rather than articles of merit to men of knowledge and science. His love for curiosities bankrupted him, and despite auctioning off his collection in 1747 was sent to the King’s Bench prison where he died in debt.

John Faber the younger moved to England from Holland at a young age and studied engraving under his father, also John Faber. He became well known for his fine quality mezzotint portraits, completing about 165 in his lifetime. The portrait of Oldham, after the lost oil painting, shows the eccentric gentleman out shooting with a male companion and his loyal dog. It is probably set on his estate at Ealing, where Oldham resided from 1728-1735.

Mezzotint: a manner of engraving on copper by scraping a roughened surface to produce light and shade.

61 cm x 80 cm (framed)