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Lot Essay
This composition is based on the picture of circa 1727-28, in Windsor Castle (inv. no. 400523).
Christopher Hussey described Brympton d'Evercy as 'The most incomparable house in Britain, the one which created the greatest impression and summarises so exquisitely English country life qualities' (Country Life, May 1927). Originally dating from 1220, the house underwent a series of expansions by the D'Evercy and Sydenham families culminating in the late 17th-century South Wing, with its baroque State apartments; this addition brought the manor house to a new level of grandeur. The house and estate were sold at auction in 1731, in large part due to the extravagant lifestyle of its then owner Sir Philip Sydenham, whereupon it was purchased by Francis Fane, barrister and MP, for a price of £15,492.10s. Francis Fane bequeathed the house to his brother Thomas, 8th Earl of Westmorland; Brympton d'Evercy descended in the family for the next 200 years, although sadly the archival records have been destroyed. Two of Brympton d'Evercy's most colourful owners - Jane Saunders (d. 1857), the eccentric second wife to the 10th Earl of Westmorland, and her daughter Lady Georgiana Fane (d. 1874), known for her famed liaison with the Duke of Wellington - were responsible for adding to its collections of furniture and art. The contents of the house were sold in a five-day auction conducted by R. B. Taylor & Sons and John D. Wood & Co., 26 November-1 December 1956. Many significant paintings and furniture were dispersed in this sale.
Christopher Hussey described Brympton d'Evercy as 'The most incomparable house in Britain, the one which created the greatest impression and summarises so exquisitely English country life qualities' (Country Life, May 1927). Originally dating from 1220, the house underwent a series of expansions by the D'Evercy and Sydenham families culminating in the late 17th-century South Wing, with its baroque State apartments; this addition brought the manor house to a new level of grandeur. The house and estate were sold at auction in 1731, in large part due to the extravagant lifestyle of its then owner Sir Philip Sydenham, whereupon it was purchased by Francis Fane, barrister and MP, for a price of £15,492.10s. Francis Fane bequeathed the house to his brother Thomas, 8th Earl of Westmorland; Brympton d'Evercy descended in the family for the next 200 years, although sadly the archival records have been destroyed. Two of Brympton d'Evercy's most colourful owners - Jane Saunders (d. 1857), the eccentric second wife to the 10th Earl of Westmorland, and her daughter Lady Georgiana Fane (d. 1874), known for her famed liaison with the Duke of Wellington - were responsible for adding to its collections of furniture and art. The contents of the house were sold in a five-day auction conducted by R. B. Taylor & Sons and John D. Wood & Co., 26 November-1 December 1956. Many significant paintings and furniture were dispersed in this sale.