Portrait of a Young Lady

In this portrait, a young lady with delicate features gazes out towards a point adjacent to the viewer. Her fur scarf, silken coat, silver headband and red lipstick characterise her as a member of 1920s high society - she is fashionable, and elegant.

The broad brushstrokes of this painting create a sense of softness and have a romantic quality to them. Whilst the lady’s outfit and the painting’s background appear hazy, the level of detail afforded to her facial features is extraordinary and instantly captures one’s eye and establishes the artist as a skilled portraitist. That is not to say that the lady’s outfit is not impressive - the white brushes on her sleeve convey movement and texture despite their size, and the transparency of her headbands hints at light being caught and reflected off its surface. Additionally paying testament to the artist’s capabilities is the three-quarter profile view, a notoriously difficult perspective to depict.

David Jagger

Hailing from Kilnhurst in Yorkshire, David Jagger was born in 1891 to a family that demonstrated clear artistic flair. His brother Charles became a sculptor, and his sister Edith became an artist also. Jagger was apprenticed to a lithographer at the age of 14, before commencing study at the Sheffield School of Art. After completing his education, he earned his living as a watercolourist and painted landscapes of his surroundings as well as pastel portraits.

 In 1914, he relocated to London alongside his brother and was employed in a commercial art studio, producing portraits in his spare time. He was often exhibited at the Royal Institute of Oil Painters, the Royal Society of Portrait Painters, the Royal Academy, and the Royal Society of British artists during this time. Jagger’s paintings were hugely successful, allowing him to establish his own portrait studio in Chelsea. 

Jagger’s portraits were in high demand, with many prominent figures of the early 20th century sitting for him - amongst these sitters are Robert Baden-Powell, Winston Churchill, Queen Mary, and Vivien Leigh. He also painted his wife, Catherine Gardiner, using her as a muse for many of his works. Jagger’s portraits of ‘Kitty’, as he called his wife, were shown at the Royal Academy and are now part of large art collections such as the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool.

His work was exhibited in the J Leger Galleries in 1935 as a major retrospective of 66 of Jagger’s works. In 1939, Jagger arranged a touring exhibition that displayed works from himself and his two siblings. Jagger’s love for his family was clear, and he used his brother as a model for his Portrait of an Army Officer.

Jagger passed away in 1958, leaving his portrait of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, unfinished. His realistic and intimate compositions have earned Jagger a place as a leading British portraitist.