POMPEO GIROLAMO BATONI (ITALIAN, 1708-1787)

Prospective purchasers are advised that several co… Read more

PROPERTY FORMERLY IN THE COLLECTION OF RICHARD STERN LOT 485

Details

POMPEO GIROLAMO BATONI (ITALIAN, 1708-1787)
William Legge, 2nd Earl of Dartmouth (1731-1801) in fur-lined red coat and yellow waistcoat
On ivory
Oval, 64 mm. high, in rectangular wooden frame surmounted with gilt-metal earl's coronet
Inscribed on the reverse of the frame 'William Earl / of Dartmouth / painted / by Pompeio at Rome / A.D.1753'

Provenance

Sent from Rome by Thomas Jenkins to the Hon. Miss Legge,1754/1755.
George Montagu-Dunk, 2nd Earl of Halifax (1716–1771), according to Horace Walpole (see Literature).
Sotheby's, London, 9 June 1969, lot 37 as ('A continental miniature...probably after a painting by Batoni')
Christie's, London, 2 November 1971, lot 38 (as 'perhaps by Batoni').

Literature

Jenkins, Rome, 30 March 1755, acknowledging a letter from Lord Dartmouth of 27 December 1754: 'The case addressed to the Hon. Miss Legge, was that which contained the music, your Lordship's and Lord North's miniatures and some other articles' (HMC 15th Report, App. I, 1896, p. 169).
H. Walpole, Anecdotes of painting in England; 1760-1795, with some account of the principal artists; and incidental notes on other arts, Volume 5, London, 1937, p. 19. 'Mr. George Montagu has two heads in water-colours, painted by Pompeio at the same time, of Lord Dartmouth and Lord North.'
F. Russell, 'Portraits on the Grand Tour. Batoni's British Sitters', Country Life, CLIII, 7 June 1973, p. 1610, fig. 7 ('This is one of the few Batoni miniatures that can be traced... assured yet delicate in its small dimensions, shows how eloquent the painter was on such a scale').
E. P. Bowron, Pompeo Batoni and his British Patrons, London, 1982, p. 18, fig. 12 (as by Pompeo Batoni).
A. Clark, Pompeo Batoni Complete Catalogue, Oxford, 1985, fig. 180, cat. no. 194 (as by Pompeo Batoni).
J. Ingamells, National Portrait Gallery Mid-Georgian Portraits 1760-1790, London, 2004, pp. 219-220 ('Batoni also made half-length miniature versions in watercolour of each portrait [Ingamells is referring to Batoni's large-scale portraits of Lord North and Lord Dartmouth] which were dispatched from Rome late in 1754').
E. P. Bowron, Pompeo Batoni. A Complete Catalogue of his Paintings, New Haven and London, 2015, no. 193 (as by Pompeo Batoni).

Special notice

Prospective purchasers are advised that several countries prohibit the importation of property containing materials from endangered species, including but not limited to coral, ivory and tortoiseshell. Accordingly, prospective purchasers should familiarize themselves with relevant customs regulations prior to bidding if they intend to import this lot into another country. These lots have been imported from outside the EU for sale using a Temporary Import regime. Import VAT is payable (at 5%) on the Hammer price. VAT is also payable (at 20%) on the buyer’s Premium on a VAT inclusive basis. When a buyer of such a lot has registered an EU address but wishes to export the lot or complete the import into another EU country, he must advise Christie's immediately after the auction.

Brought to you by

Matilda Burn

Check the condition report or get in touch for additional information about this

mburn@christies.com +44 (0)20 7752 3026

If you wish to view the condition report of this lot, please sign in to your account.

View condition report

Lot Essay

The sitter was the son of George Legge, Viscount Lewisham (d. 1732) and Elizabeth, née Kaye (d. 1745). Dartmouth’s father died shortly after his birth and his mother married secondly Francis North, 1st Earl of Guilford (1704-1790). Dartmouth and his stepbrother Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford, who became Prime Minister, travelled to Italy on a grand tour together in 1751. In Rome, both were painted in oil on canvas by Batoni. The one depicting the present sitter is in the Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College (inv. no. 2007.34), and the one depicting Lord North is in National Portrait Gallery, London (inv. no. NPG 6180). The corresponding portrait miniature by Batoni of Lord North was sold Sotheby’s, London, 27 July 1923, lot 139, and the corresponding portrait miniature to the portrait of Lord Dartmouth is the present lot.
A letter written by Thomas Jenkins to Lord Dartmouth from Rome on 30 March 1755 confirms that both miniatures were painted and dispatched before March 1755 to the ‘Hon. Miss Legge’ (Historical Manuscripts Commission, 15th Report, Appendix, Part I, London, 1896, p. 160). The recipient of the miniature was possibly Lord Dartmouth’s sister The Hon. Anne Legge (d. 1786). The miniatures therefore preceded the oils which were completed in 1756.
In 1755 Lord Dartmouth married Frances Catherine Nicoll and in the same year became Vice President of the Foundling Hospital, a position he held until 1801. He was also a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, Lord Privy Seal, President of the Board of Trade and Foreign Plantations and Colonial Secretary. Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, in the United States, is named after him.
Further information about the present portrait can be found in the forthcoming publication by E. P. Bowron, Pompeo Batoni. A Complete Catalogue of his Paintings, New Haven and London, 2015, no. 193. We are indebted to Dr Peter Bowron, former Audrey Jones Beck Curator of European Art, Museum of Fine Arts Houston for his assistance with the preparation of this catalogue entry.

More from Centuries of Style: Silver, European Ceramics, Portrait Miniatures and Gold Boxes

View All