Academies and their networks

Kept for centuries in the Drury Lowe family's rich art collections at their Locko Park residence in Derbyshire, a fascinating portrait of a middle-aged man flaunting a very ornate necklace of shells re-emerged some years ago on the London art market. [fig. 1] [1] Before examining the curious canvas, I had already noticed the singular portrait in an old black and white photograph classified in the Warburg Institute's photographic archive under the category Shells.