Called William Curzon MP (?1681-1749)
British (English) School
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
circa 1720
Materials
Oil on canvas
Measurements
1245 x 991 mm (49 x 39 in)
Place of origin
England
Order this imageCollection
Kedleston Hall, Derbyshire
NT 108815
Summary
Oil painting on canvas, called William Curzon MP (c.1681 - 1749), British (English) School, circa 1720. Inscribed on gilt label on frame: WILLIAM CURZON, MP / 1686-1749. A three-quarter-length portrait of a florid man, turned slightly to the left, gazing at the spectator, his right hand tucked the front of his coat, his left hand on his hip, in a long brown full-bottomed wig, wearing a blue velvet coat with elaborate gilt braiding, white shirt and white stock. Background on the left composed of trees and sky. Fourth son of Sir Nathaniel Curzon, 2nd Bt, and thus brother of the 3rd and 4th Baronets. He was returned as MP for Clitheroe as a Tory by his brother Nathaniel (1734 47), but ‘never paid the compliment of attending his own election’, nor once voted in the House. Horace Walpole described him as ‘a nasty wretch and very covetous’.
Provenance
Bought with part of the contents of Kedleston Hall with the aid of the National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF) in 1986 when the house and park were given to the National Trust by Francis Curzon, 3rd Viscount Scarsdale (1924-2000)
Credit line
Kedleston Hall, The Scarsdale Collection (acquired with the help of the National Heritage Memorial Fund and transferred to The National Trust in 1987)
Marks and inscriptions
label - painted - bottom of frame - black text on gold - WILLIAM CURZON, MP. 1686-1749
Makers and roles
British (English) School, publisher previously catalogued as attributed to Sir Godfrey Kneller (Lübeck 1646 - London 1723), publisher