Possibly Mary Bourchier nee Bellwood (1683-1746)
attributed to Jonathan Richardson the elder (London 1665 – London 1745)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
circa 1720
Materials
Oil on canvas
Measurements
952 x 833 mm (38 x 33 in)
Order this imageCollection
Beningbrough Hall, North Yorkshire
NT 1191142
Summary
Oil painting on canvas. A painted oval half-length portrait of a young woman, turned slightly to the left, head turned slightly to the right, gazing at the spectator, dark brown hair with a tress falling on her right shoulder, wearing an ivory satin wrap-around gown with a blue lining, over a low-cut white chemise. Possibly Mary Bourchier nee Bellwood (1683-1746), attributed to Jonathan Richardson the elder (London 1665 – London 1745). Label on the reverse for the Reynolds Gallery, London and a date/page reference, probably for the gallery's log book recording entry of the painting after being sent for cleaning. 'No.106' appears to be the entry for a Beningbrough paintings catalogue also drawn up in 1892, no copy of which survives.
Full description
This work is one of many family portraits found in Beningbrough Hall when it was inherited by Lewis and Victoria Dawnay in 1891. Lewis Dawnay sold some of these, with others being conserved and catalogued by John Lewis Rutley jnr in 1892; Rutley's inventory label can be found on the reverse of the frame for this work stating 'Portrait of a Lady of the Queen Anne Period'. The work is evidently a pair for the male portrait NT 1191146 and both are listed in the 1958 auction catalogue for Beningbrough as the father and mother of John Bourchier of Beningbrough (presumably John Bourchier jnr) N.B. the catalogue names her as Mildred rather than Mary (Mildred was name of John Bourchier jnr's wife, but the portrait is too early to be her). It is possible that both were originally fixed into the wainscotting above the doors of the original ground floor State Bedroom at Beningbrough which was knocked through with the neighbouring withdrawing room to create the eastern half of the current Drawing Room in 1891/2. The other three principal bedrooms at Beningbrough contain what appear to be husband and wife portraits of previous 17th century owners of the Beningbrough estate, running in chronological order from first floor to ground and these two, likely showing the builders of the 'new' hall, would therefore have been the concluding pair. The 1759 will of their son and heir, John Bourchier junior, specifies that "family pictures" fixed into the wainscoting must remain in the house, suggesting a particular significance was placed upon these portraits.
Provenance
Inherited with house by Lewis Payn Dawnay in 1891; purchased with house by Enid, Lady Chesterfield in 1917; house sale held by Curtis and Henson, June 1958, lot 1128, as "A bust portrait of Mildred, mother of John Bouchier (sic) of Beningbrough", "by or attributed to" Sir Godfrey Kneller; accepted in lieu of tax from HM Treasury, from the estate of Lady Chesterfield (1878 -1957) in 1958.
Marks and inscriptions
No.106 / Col. the Hon. L. P. Dawnay. Portrait of a lady of the time of Queen Anne. 31/10/92 p.291
Makers and roles
attributed to Jonathan Richardson the elder (London 1665 – London 1745), artist previously catalogued as attributed to British (English) School, artist