Portrait of Anne Stewart, née Dashwood, Countess of Galloway (1743-1830), three-quarter-length, in a blue dress adorned with pearls, with her daughter, Lady Susan Stewart, later Duchess of Marlborough (1767-1841), in a white dress, holding a sketchbook and stylus

Anne, Countess of Galloway, was the third daughter of Sir James Dashwood, 2nd Bt., M.P. (1715–1779), of Kirtlington, Oxfordshire and his wife, Elizabeth, co-heiress with her sister, Anne, Duchess of Hamilton, of Edward Spencer of Rendlesham. In 1764 she married, as his second wife, John Stewart, Lord Garlies, later 7th Earl of Galloway (1736-1806), who had been painted at Rome by Mengs in 1758 and would inherit Galloway House, designed by William Adam, with extensive estates in Wigtonshire. In 1791 their third child, Lady Susan Stewart married George Spencer Churchill, Marquess of Blandford, later 5th Duke of Marlborough (1766-1840), who no doubt had come to know her because the Dashwoods at Kirtlington were close neighbours. An extravagant collector of early books, the duke would unfortunately not prove a faithful husband. The duchess, on the other hand, was evidently widely respected and inspired a deep loyalty in her children: for an authoritative account see Mary Soames, The Profligate Duke, George Spencer Churchill, fifth Duke of Marlborough and his Duchess, London, 1987. This touchingly honest portrait suggests that Lady Galloway and her daughter also enjoyed a particular rapport.

We are grateful to Dr. Bettina Baumgärtel and Professor Wendy Wassying Roworth who independently confirmed the attribution to Kauffman after inspection of the original in 2014.