John Varley O.W.S. (1778-1842) - Portrait of a seated gentleman

This interesting drawing by Varley depicts a gentleman sat in deep thought gazing to his right. Although not known for his portraits Varley was extremely competent in this genre with his typical broad brush strokes and washes obvious in this work. Varley was skilled in using sepia and perhaps learnt this from his time in the Monro Academy or the early Sketching Society (1799-1851) with both clubs mainly using this medium. It would be interesting to know what the 'No 16' inscription stands for. It could have been part of a series of figure studies by Varley or perhaps added at a later date by a collector or dealer.
 
Medium: sepia and watercolour on paper, inscribed 'No 16' at the top of the picture, 16.7 x 12 cm, mounted.
 
Provenance: Cyril and Shirley Fry Collection (the late owners of the Fry Gallery).