Lot 151
151
WILLIAM GRIMALDI (BRITISH, 1751-1830)
Prospective purchasers are advised that several co… Read more
WILLIAM GRIMALDI (BRITISH, 1751-1830)

Details
WILLIAM GRIMALDI (BRITISH, 1751-1830)
Prince William Frederick, later Duke of Gloucester (1776-1834), in gold figured blue coat with red collar and cuffs; red curtain and pillar background
signed and inscribed on the reverse 'to / Prince William of Gloucester / By Wm. Grimaldi Enamel / Painter to His Royal Highness / Prince of Wales / and Enamel and Miniature Painter to their Royal Highness's Duke / and Duchess / of York'
on ivory
oval, 4.1/8 in. (105 mm.) high, chased gilt-metal frame with ribbon surmount
Provenance
A direct descendant of the artist; Christie's, London, 10 July 1990, lot 130.
Literature
A. B. Grimaldi, A Catalogue of the Works of William Grimaldi, 1873, no. 49 (the version painted for the Duke of Gloucester is no. 48 of the catalogue).
Exhibited
London, King's College, Evening Soirée, 1857.
London, Ironmongers' Hall, A catalogue of the antiquities and works of art, exhibited at Ironmongers' Hall, London: in the month of May, 1861, 3-5 May 1861, London, 1869.
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.

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Lot Essay

Prince William Frederick, later Duke of Gloucester (1776-1834), was the third child and only son of Prince William Henry, Duke of Gloucester (1743-1805), a younger brother of George III, and Maria Walpole (1736-1807), the illegitimate daughter of Edward Walpole, son of Prime Minister Robert Walpole. In 1816, he married his cousin Mary (1776-1857), the fourth daughter of George III and Queen Charlotte. They had no children, both being 40 when they married. They lived at Bagshot Park, Surrey.
Grimaldi painted two miniatures of the Duke of Gloucester in 1791. The first he painted for the Duke while he was attending Trinity College, Cambridge. It cost 50 guineas and was after the painting of the Duke by Romney, which remains at Trinity today. The second miniature, the present lot, was kept by Grimaldi. It was exhibited in 1857 and in 1861.

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