John Crace

John Crace from 1800 by John Hoppner depicts a member of the Crace family of interior decorators who worked on some of the most important buildings in Georgian and Regency England, including the Royal Pavilion at Brighton. The portrait documents a figure from the decorative arts world. Hoppner's oil handling favored warm flesh tones over silvery grey half-shadows, producing an immediate vivacity that reflected his admiration for Reynolds and Gainsborough.

The portrait renders the decorator with professional dignity, executed in Hoppner's characteristic broad manner with attention to the sitter's individual features.