Lamqua, also known as Guan Qiaochang (1801-1860)
Philadelphia Ship Captain, 1835
Oil on linen

Signed and dated on back
Chinese Carved Original Frame
Painted in Canton

Lamqua, also known as Guan Qiaochang, was the leading export artist of his generation, painting in the Western tradition for Western markets. According to several reports by Westerners who visited his studio in China Street, Guangzhou, Lamqua had worked as assistant to George Chinnery in the early years of that artist’s residence in Macao. Chinnery is said to have denied this. In any event, Lamqua became an oil painter in a manner very similar to Chinnery’s, sharing much of the English artist’s fluency of handling and adopting his mannerism of adding touches of strong colour at the final stage. As a portrait artist painting both Chinese and Western merchants, Lamqua was able to undercut Chinnery’s fees. Lamqua’s sitters, like Chinnery’s, are usually positioned not quite full-face to the spectator and are often seated by a window, allowing a glimpse of landscape beyond. He also painted landscapes and made copies in oils of engravings that Westerners brought to his studio.