Portrait of George John Spencer (1758-1834), Viscount Althorp, later 2nd Earl Spencer, half-length, in academic robes

Details

JOHN DOWNMAN, A.R.A. (RAUBON, WALES 1750-1824 WREXHAM)
Portrait of George John Spencer (1758-1834), Viscount Althorp, later 2nd Earl Spencer, half-length, in academic robes
signed and dated ‘J·Downman / Pinx. / 1777’ (lower right)
oil on copper
9 1⁄8 x 7 ½ in. (23.2 x 19 cm.)

Provenance

Mrs. Barnard, Cave Castle, Yorkshire, by whose estate sold,
[Sold by Order of the Trustees of Mrs. Barnard, deceased, late of Cave Castle, South Cave, East York]; Christie’s, London, 12 June 1925, lot 54, described as 'A young gentleman, in undergraduate gowns', where acquired by,
Lt. Col. Barton, London.
H. R. Rowlands, the Midlands, by 1938.
Anonymous sale; Phillips, Sevenoaks, 26 May 1994, lot 947, described as a 'half length portrait of a young gentleman wearing white stock, grey doublet and black coat'.
Dr. T. A. Currie
with Spink & Son, London, 1996, where acquired by the following,
Private collection, 2001.
with Sprink-Leger, London,
Acquired by Russell Barnett Aitken (1910-2002) and Irene Roosevelt Aitken, née Boyd (1931-2025) from the above on 22 June 2001.

Literature

J. Munro, John Downman 1750-1824: landscape, figure studies and portraits of ‘distinguished persons’, exhibition catalogue, 1996, pp. 37 and 39, no. 14, illustrated.

Exhibited

Birmingham, City of Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, An Exhibition of Treasures from Midland Homes, 2 November-2 December 1938, no. 148, described as a 'Portrait of an undergraduate (probably a member of the Jersey family)'.
Cambridge, Fitzwilliam Museum, John Downman 1750-1824: landscape, figure studies and portraits of ‘distinguished persons’, 1996, no. 14, described as a 'Portrait of a young man seated half length wearing academic robes'.
London, Spink & Sons Ltd., The Small Picture Show, 17 April-17 May 1996, no. 2.
London, Spink-Leger, Head and Shoulders. Portrait Drawings & Some Small Paintings, 16 November-17 December 1999, no. 16.
London, Spink-Leger, Small Pictures, 9 November-15 December 2000, no. 9.

Conditions of sale

Brought to you by

Elizabeth Seigel Vice President, Specialist, Head of Private and Iconic Collections

eseigel@christies.com +1 212 484 4812

Lot Essay

This small portrait, dated 1777, depicts George John Spencer, Viscount Althorp, dressed in his academic robes while he was attending Trinity College, Cambridge. During this time, John Downman was working in Cambridge, producing a series of drawings of undergraduate students from the various colleges at the University. Among these is a drawing of Viscount Althorp, now in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge (inv. no. 1832), with the same composition as the present painting and presumably after which it is based. The drawing includes an inscription identifying the sitter and noting ‘I painted two of this’.

A smaller oval version by Downman, formerly in the Berger Collection, was most recently sold at Sotheby’s in London in 2011, although in that version the draped curtain in the background is replaced by a column and landscape beyond (Sotheby's, London, 14 April 2011, lot 245).

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