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Lot Essay
The sitter was the daughter of Henry, 4th Earl of Stirling and Elizabeth Weckherlin. In 1706, Judith married Sir William Trumbull. Their son, William Trumbull, married Chetwynd Blundell whose daughter, Mary Trumbull, was the mother of Mary Sandys, Marchioness of Downshire. The architectural background of the present work is close to that in a painting of Lady Mary Forester by Charles Jervas at Willey Park, Shropshire.
Correspondence between Alexander Pope and William Trumbull reveals that Jervas undertook several commissions for the Trumbull family. A letter, probably from early 1713, written by both Jervas and Pope to Sir William appears to advertise the artist's occupation as a 'time stockjobber' (G. Sherburn, 'Letters of Alexander Pope, Chiefly to Sir William Trumbull', The Review of English Studies, IX, no. 36, November 1958, p. 397). This obviously succeeded in eliciting a commission as on 3 June in the same year, Sir William wrote to Mr. Hill that the artist had completed a drawing of Lady Judith's head, and one of her son (loc. cit.). A letter from Pope to Sir William on 15 June 1714 also records that Jervas was working on 'the Opus magnum, your Family-Piece' (loc. cit.).
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, succeeding Kneller as Principal Painter to King George I.
Correspondence between Alexander Pope and William Trumbull reveals that Jervas undertook several commissions for the Trumbull family. A letter, probably from early 1713, written by both Jervas and Pope to Sir William appears to advertise the artist's occupation as a 'time stockjobber' (G. Sherburn, 'Letters of Alexander Pope, Chiefly to Sir William Trumbull', The Review of English Studies, IX, no. 36, November 1958, p. 397). This obviously succeeded in eliciting a commission as on 3 June in the same year, Sir William wrote to Mr. Hill that the artist had completed a drawing of Lady Judith's head, and one of her son (loc. cit.). A letter from Pope to Sir William on 15 June 1714 also records that Jervas was working on 'the Opus magnum, your Family-Piece' (loc. cit.).
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, succeeding Kneller as Principal Painter to King George I.