SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS, P.R.A (Plympton 1723-1792 London)

Portrait of Lady Mary Coke (1726-1811), half-length, in an ermine-trimmed red cloak

Details

SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS, P.R.A (Plympton 1723-1792 London)
Portrait of Lady Mary Coke (1726-1811), half-length, in an ermine-trimmed red cloak
with inscription 'Lady Mary/Coke' (upper right)
oil on canvas
30¼ x 25 1/8 in. (76.8 x 63.8 cm.)

Provenance

The artist's sale; Greenwood's, London, 14 April 1796, lot 35, to Alexander, 3rd Earl of Fife, by whom placed in the South-West Drawing Room of Duff House, no. 8 and by descent to
Alexander, 6th Earl, and 1st Duke of Fife, to his wife
H.R.H. Princess Louise, the Princess Royal; Christie's, London, 18 July 1924, lot 126 (4,800 gns. to Aaron).
Mrs. J. Aaron, New York; Sotheby's, London, 26 June 1968, lot 35 (£18,000 to Leggatt).
Dr. Daniel M. McDonald, by 1970; (+), Christie's, London, 11 April 1997, lot 12 (£34,500=$55,900).

Literature

Catalogue of the Portraits & Pictures in the Different Houses belonging to James, Earl of Fife, London, 1807, p. 44.
A. Graves and W.V. Cronin, A History of the Works of Sir Joshua Reynolds, P.R.A., London, 1899, I, p. 183, illustrated.
Sir W. Armstrong, Sir Joshua Reynolds, London, 1900, p. 199.
E.K. Waterhouse, Reynolds, London, 1941, pp. 44 and 86.

Exhibited

London, Royal Academy, 1886, no. 27.
London, Leggatt Brothers, An Exhibition of Paintings from the Collection of Dr. D.M. McDonald, 1970, no. 31.
Denver Art Museum, 600 Years of British Painting, The Berger Collection at the Denver Art Museum, 1998-1999, pp. 131, 272, illustrated.

Lot Essay

Lady Mary Campbell was the fifth and youngest daughter of John, 2nd Duke of Argyll and Duke of Greenwich. On 1 April 1747 she married Edward, Viscount Coke, son and heir of Thomas Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester, but it was to be a short and unsuccessful marriage ending in their separation in 1750. Lady Mary travelled on the continent and was often at Court. She developed a friendship with Horace Walpole, the second edition of whose novel The Castle of Otranto, 1765, is dedicated to her. Gaining the nickname of 'The White Cat' (for she had a fine figure, a pale complexion and fierce eyes) she was known for being both beautiful and clever. Her Journals are a major source of information about London society and fashion. She was the subject of one of Allan Ramsay's most distinguished portraits (Scotland, Mount Stuart). In later life she developed a number of eccentricities, dressing strangely 'and always [being] followed by a troop of servants and dogs' (Vicary Gibbs). She was buried at Westminster Abbey having died at the age of 84.

Sittings with Reynolds are recorded in 1758, 1759, and 1762.

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