Gustavus Hamilton

Gustavus Hamilton (c. 1739–16 December 1775) was an Irish miniature painter.

Life and family Gustavus Hamilton was born circa 1739. He was the son of Rev. Gustavus Hamilton, vicar of Errigal and rector of Gallon, County Meath and his wife Jane (née Cathcart). Hamilton was one of the couple's younger children. The Hamiltons claimed descent from the Hamiltons of Priestfield, Midlothian, Scotland. alongside miniaturists James Reily and Daniel O'Keefe. Reily and Hamilton painted miniatures in the 1750s and 1760s, working in watercolour on ivory in the "modest" manner of Nathaniel Hone. Along with other artists like Thomas Boulger (fl. 1761–88) and Luke Sullivan, Hamilton was a link between the earlier miniaturists in style and technical skill and those from the later 18th century. This period and group are seen as formative in the development of ivory and watercolour miniature painting. His miniatures are small, with the intention of being worn as jewellery. An exemplar of Hamilton's work is his portrait of Rev. Joshua Nunn held in the National Gallery of Ireland. The portrait bears stylistic similarities with the work of English miniaturist, Samuel Collins, who lived in Dublin from 1762 to 1768. Hamilton continued to refine his technique, with Portrait of an unknown gentleman showing this development. Hamilton exhibited his miniatures between 1765 and 1773 at the Society of Artists in Ireland in Dublin.