Portrait of the Rt. Hon. David La Touche of Marlay, Dublin (1734-1806), bust-length, in a blue coat with a red collar and white stock

The La Touches, of French Huguenot origin, were one of the most important families in Irish Georgian society, prominent landowners, bankers and patrons of the arts. In 1762, David (the third David of the La Touche dynasty) married Elizabeth, daughter of Rt. Rev. Dr George Marlay, Bishop of Dromore. Two years later La Touche purchased a 300 acre estate in Rathfarnham, Dublin and named it ‘Marlay’ in honour of his wife. Shortly after his marriage, David la Touche entered the Irish Parliament to represent banking interests. He had a distinguished career and in 1783 was nominated as the first Governor of the Bank of Ireland and was also elected to the Privy Council of Ireland.

Hugh Douglas Hamilton had a long association with the La Touche family; Neil Jeffares lists over a dozen known portraits of various generations (see N. Jeffares, ‘Hugh Douglas Hamilton', Online Dictionary of Pastellists before 1800, pp. 1-2.). The La Touche family were linked to the Dublin Society Drawing School and it was probably here that the family first met Hamilton as a young artist. The earliest known portrait of a member of the La Touche family by Hamilton is of the present sitter, dating to circa 1765 (National Gallery of Ireland, no. 7237). Hamilton executed several other portraits of David La Touche including another oval pastel which is similar to the present work (see Sotheby’s, London, 14 July 1988, lot 61) and a later full-length portrait in oil, circa 1802-3 (Bank of Ireland).

We are grateful to Neil Jeffares for his help with this catalogue entry.