Lot Essay
Maria (died 1760), eldest daughter of John Gunning of Castle Coote, co. Roscommon and the Hon. Bridget Bourke, daughter of 6th Viscount Bourke of Mayo, married as his first wife, George William, 6th Earl of Coventry (d. 1809) and had issue.
Maria and her sister were famed for their beauty and on arrival in London in the summer of 1751 were said to be "the handsomest women alive". Crowds followed them whenver they appeared in public and they were generally known as "The Beauties". Such was her following that in 1759, Maria was mobbed in Hyde Park and the King ordered that she should be guarded.
The costume and pose of this sitter are identical to those used by
the Swiss pastellist Jean-Etienne Liotard (1689-1762) in his full length portrait of the Countess of Coventry. There are four versions of this pastel which date to his first visit to London 1753-1755.
Spencer used the pose and costume from Liotard's portrait in two other enamels: the portrait of lady called Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, dated 1755 in the Victoria and Albert Museum and the portrait of Elizabeth Bradshaw dated 1757, sold in these rooms, 25 June 1968, lot 68 and now in the Yale Center for British Art. Both these enamels show the sitter in reverse. Spencer may have borrowed this from the undated mezzotint published by Richard Houstn (c. 1721-1775) after Liotard's portrait of the Countess of Coventry
Maria and her sister were famed for their beauty and on arrival in London in the summer of 1751 were said to be "the handsomest women alive". Crowds followed them whenver they appeared in public and they were generally known as "The Beauties". Such was her following that in 1759, Maria was mobbed in Hyde Park and the King ordered that she should be guarded.
The costume and pose of this sitter are identical to those used by
the Swiss pastellist Jean-Etienne Liotard (1689-1762) in his full length portrait of the Countess of Coventry. There are four versions of this pastel which date to his first visit to London 1753-1755.
Spencer used the pose and costume from Liotard's portrait in two other enamels: the portrait of lady called Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, dated 1755 in the Victoria and Albert Museum and the portrait of Elizabeth Bradshaw dated 1757, sold in these rooms, 25 June 1968, lot 68 and now in the Yale Center for British Art. Both these enamels show the sitter in reverse. Spencer may have borrowed this from the undated mezzotint published by Richard Houstn (c. 1721-1775) after Liotard's portrait of the Countess of Coventry