Portrait of Luke A. Ionides dates from 1860. 1

Portrait of Luke A. Ionides, Private collection

According to the sitter, Lucas (Luke) Alexander Ionides (1837-1924), it was the praise given by the artist George Frederick Watts (1817-1904) to At the Piano [YMSM 024] in 1859 that influenced his father, Alexander Constantine Ionides (1810-1890), to commission this portrait shortly afterwards. 2 Luke Ionides stated that his portrait was 'only completed after a dozen sittings' in 1860. 3