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Lot Essay
Sir Moses Haim Montefiore (1784-1885), was the son of Joseph Eliahu Montefiore, an Italian merchant based in London, and his wife Rachel, daughter of Abraham Lumbroso de Mattos Mocatta. Montefiore, who became a successful financier and a prominent leader of the Jewish community in England, was born in Leghorn, Italy, on 24 October 1784. His paternal ancestors were Sephardic Italian merchants, his grandfather having emigrated from Leghorn to London in the early 1750s, while his mother was descended from an ancient Jewish family, of Spanish origin, that had settled in London to escape the Inquisition.
As a young man Montefiore enrolled as a clerk with a mercantile firm in the City of London, and in 1803 he obtained the right to act as a broker on the London Stock Exchange at a time when the number of Jewish brokers was limited to twelve. His career was furthered by his marriage to Judith Baren Cohen (1784-1862), daughter of Levi Baren Cohen, in June 1812, who brought with her a large dowry and whose sister, Hannah, was married to Nathan Mayer Rothschild, whose stockbroker Montefiore became, and with whom he founded the Alliance Assurance Company in 1824.
By the early 1820s Montefiore had amassed a considerable fortune and in 1824 he increasingly retired from business in order to devote himself to philanthropy, particularly in the service of the Jewish people both in Great Britain and abroad, becoming a member of the United Deputies of British Jews and energetically supporting Jewish emancipation. Among numerous informal and sometimes hazardous diplomatic ventures that he embarked upon, to this end he visited Mehmet Ali, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from who he obtained a ruling placing Jews on the same footing as other foreigners throughout the Ottoman empire, in 1840. He also visited Tsar Nicholas of Russia, in 1844, obtaining a change in the Imperial government's policy of relocating to the Russian interior Jews who lived within a certain distance of the German and Austrian frontiers, and later toured eastern Russia at the Tsar's suggestion. In 1847 he also successfully intervened with the French government in order to obtain protection for the Jewish community in Syria from a rise in anti-semitic feeling, and in 1858 made a personal appeal to the Pope over the celebrated Mortara case. Montefiore, who was also Sheriff of London from 1837 to 1838, was knighted by the Queen in 1837 and created a baronet in 1846, reflecting his humanitarian efforts and wide ranging philanthropy. He died at his country estate, East Cliff Lodge, Ramsgate, on 28 July 1885.
George Richmond studied at the Royal Academy Schools, where he formed a lifelong friendship with fellow artist Samuel Palmer, becoming a part of a group that followed William Blake, called 'The Ancients'. Although Richmond's early work was influenced by Blake, he turned to portrait painting for a living, becoming a leading portraitist of his day. This picture was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1875, presenting Montefiore as the 'President of the Alliance British and Foreign Life and Fire Assurance Company', the catalogue noting that it was 'painted for the Board Room', presumably of Alliance Assurance.
As a young man Montefiore enrolled as a clerk with a mercantile firm in the City of London, and in 1803 he obtained the right to act as a broker on the London Stock Exchange at a time when the number of Jewish brokers was limited to twelve. His career was furthered by his marriage to Judith Baren Cohen (1784-1862), daughter of Levi Baren Cohen, in June 1812, who brought with her a large dowry and whose sister, Hannah, was married to Nathan Mayer Rothschild, whose stockbroker Montefiore became, and with whom he founded the Alliance Assurance Company in 1824.
By the early 1820s Montefiore had amassed a considerable fortune and in 1824 he increasingly retired from business in order to devote himself to philanthropy, particularly in the service of the Jewish people both in Great Britain and abroad, becoming a member of the United Deputies of British Jews and energetically supporting Jewish emancipation. Among numerous informal and sometimes hazardous diplomatic ventures that he embarked upon, to this end he visited Mehmet Ali, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from who he obtained a ruling placing Jews on the same footing as other foreigners throughout the Ottoman empire, in 1840. He also visited Tsar Nicholas of Russia, in 1844, obtaining a change in the Imperial government's policy of relocating to the Russian interior Jews who lived within a certain distance of the German and Austrian frontiers, and later toured eastern Russia at the Tsar's suggestion. In 1847 he also successfully intervened with the French government in order to obtain protection for the Jewish community in Syria from a rise in anti-semitic feeling, and in 1858 made a personal appeal to the Pope over the celebrated Mortara case. Montefiore, who was also Sheriff of London from 1837 to 1838, was knighted by the Queen in 1837 and created a baronet in 1846, reflecting his humanitarian efforts and wide ranging philanthropy. He died at his country estate, East Cliff Lodge, Ramsgate, on 28 July 1885.
George Richmond studied at the Royal Academy Schools, where he formed a lifelong friendship with fellow artist Samuel Palmer, becoming a part of a group that followed William Blake, called 'The Ancients'. Although Richmond's early work was influenced by Blake, he turned to portrait painting for a living, becoming a leading portraitist of his day. This picture was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1875, presenting Montefiore as the 'President of the Alliance British and Foreign Life and Fire Assurance Company', the catalogue noting that it was 'painted for the Board Room', presumably of Alliance Assurance.