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Lot Essay
The sitter was the daughter of William, 5th Baron Digby (1661-1752) and his wife Jane, daughter of Edward Noel, 1st Earl of Gainsborough, whom he married in 1686.
The present portrait was one of a group of four female portraits, all of three-quarter-length (50 x 40 in.) format, owned by Mrs J.D.H. Bankes, which were dispersed in 2000. One of the other portraits bore an inscription that identified the sitter as a cousin of the sitter in the present portrait.
Charles Jervas, who was born in Ireland, studied under Sir Godfrey Kneller (circa 1694-95). He travelled to Italy via Paris in 1698 and had settled in Rome by 1703, where he remained until 1709, where George Vertue noted that he was known as 'Carlo Jervasi' and 'Esteemed' as a 'good, engenious painter'. On his return to London he became fashionable as a portrait painter partly due to his friendships in literary circles and he succeeded Kneller as Principal Painter to King George I. He remained in London until his death but also made regular trips to Ireland.
The present portrait was one of a group of four female portraits, all of three-quarter-length (50 x 40 in.) format, owned by Mrs J.D.H. Bankes, which were dispersed in 2000. One of the other portraits bore an inscription that identified the sitter as a cousin of the sitter in the present portrait.
Charles Jervas, who was born in Ireland, studied under Sir Godfrey Kneller (circa 1694-95). He travelled to Italy via Paris in 1698 and had settled in Rome by 1703, where he remained until 1709, where George Vertue noted that he was known as 'Carlo Jervasi' and 'Esteemed' as a 'good, engenious painter'. On his return to London he became fashionable as a portrait painter partly due to his friendships in literary circles and he succeeded Kneller as Principal Painter to King George I. He remained in London until his death but also made regular trips to Ireland.