A Riding Party in a wooded River Landscape, with the Duke of Cumberland in the centre, a country house beyond

William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland (1721-1765) was not only a gifted Military Commander but a keen Huntsman and a passionate supporter of horseracing. His stud had the reputation as one of the best in the Kingdom and both 'Eclipse' and 'Herod' were bred there. Little is however known about Judith Lewis. Her work is chiefly known from a pair of pictures signed and dated 1755 and 1756 which were sold in these rooms on 24 June 1960 as lot 87 (see E. Waterhouse,The Dictionary of British 18th Century Painters, Woodbridge, 1981, p.223, one of the pair illustrated). There are strong similarities between these and the present picture both stylistically and in terms of composition, they are of the same format. Another pair of pictures by the artist was sold in Christie's New York, 6 December 1996 as lot 17 for $95,000. On stylistic grounds the artist would appear to have been much influenced by the work of John Wootton and may perhaps have been a pupil of his.