Portrait bust of Lady Mairi Vane-Tempest-Stewart, later Viscountess Bury (1921-2009), at the age of four
Margaret Wrightson (Stockton on Tees 1877 - 1976)
Category
Art / Sculpture
Date
1925 - 1926
Materials
Carrara marble
Measurements
470 mm (Height)
Place of origin
London
Order this imageCollection
Mount Stewart, County Down
NT 1221050
Summary
Sculpture, marble; portrait bust of Lady Mairi Vane-Tempest-Stewart, later Viscountess Bury (1921-2009); Margaret Wrightson (1877-1976); 1925-26. A marble portrait bust of Lady Mairi Bury depicted at the age of four, the same age at which she was modelled for the Mairi Fountain in the gardens at Mount Stewart. One of a number of sculptures by Margaret Wrightson of members of the Londonderry family at Mount Stewart, including smaller versions of this sculpture in marble and in bronze.
Full description
A portrait bust in marble of Lady Mairi Vane-Tempest-Stewart, later Viscountess Bury (1921-2009) at the age of four, by Margaret Wrightson. The sitter is depicted looking slightly upwards and to her left. The bust is in herm form, on a tall integral rectangular socle, on the front of which is the inscription identifying the sitter; the sculpture is signed and dated on the back. The portrait may well have been commissioned at the same time as the Mairi Fountain (NT 1221060), which also depicts Mairi at the age of four. There are three versions of this portrait at Mount Stewart; in addition to this large version, presumably the one exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1926 (no. 1286), there are small versions in marble and in bronze (NT 1221036 and 1543001). The Vane and Wrightson families were neighbouring landowners in Northumberland from at least the early eighteenth century. In the later nineteenth century the former close relations between the families were renewed, with the marine engineer and politician Sir Thomas Wrightson (1839-1921) developing a close friendship with the 6th Marquess and Marchioness of Londonderry. His daughter Margaret Wrightson, who enjoyed a long and successful career as a professional sculptor, also therefore became a family friend of the Londonderrys. Much of Wrightson's work consisted in portrait commissions, but she also made a number of larger works. Her first commission from the Londonderrys was from the 6th Marchioness, for a fountain for Wynyard Park, whilst she subsequently received several commissions from Edith, 7th Marchioness of Londonderrys (for more information on Margaret Wrightson, see the Mairi Fountain, NT 1221060). Jeremy Warren October 2022
Provenance
Commissioned by the sitter’s parents, the 7th Marquess & Marchioness of Londonderry; thence by descent, until given to the National Trust by Lady Mairi Bury (1921-2009), in 1976.
Marks and inscriptions
Base, front:: MARY STEWART / .AET. IV. / .MDCCCCXXV. Back, near right shoulder:: Margaret Wrightson / 1926 Sc.
Makers and roles
Margaret Wrightson (Stockton on Tees 1877 - 1976), sculptor
References
Royal Academy 1926. The exhibition of the Royal Academy, 1926. The 158th., London 1926, p. 84, no. 1286.