Possibly Elizabeth Hamilton, Mrs John Cameron of Glenkindy, later the Comtesse de Fay
Sir Joshua Reynolds PRA (Plympton 1723 - London 1792)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
circa 1754 (year of her first marriage)
Materials
Oil on canvas
Measurements
762 x 635 mm (30 x 25 in)
Place of origin
England
Order this imageCollection
Montacute House, Somerset
NT 597960
Caption
One of the earliest paintings by Reynolds in National Trust collections, the cool flesh tones, blues, greys and silvers suggest that this portrait was painted in the early 1750s, some time after Reynolds had returned from studying the Old Masters in Italy (1750-2). Back in London, Reynolds set up his first studio at St Martin's Lane before moving to Great Newport Street, the 1750s saw Reynolds establish his name in the London art world. His budding flair for conveying character is revealed in this playful portrait, in which the sitter, softly illuminated against dark drapery, gazes mischievously at the viewer.
Summary
Oil painting on canvas, Possibly Elizabeth Hamilton Mrs John Cameron of Glenkindy, later the Comtesse de Fay by Sir Joshua Reynolds PRA (1723-1792), circa 1754. Possibly a portrait of the cousin of Sir Joshua Reynolds's early friend and sitter, Captain John Hamilton RN (d.1755), grandson of John Cameron, 18th Chief, none of whose children had issue. She is seen half length in profile to left, head facing, gazing at spectator, wearing a grey silk dress, a tight lace bonnet tied with a pink ribbon beneath her chin, holding up to her bosom a pale blue scarf with her right hand and which is draped over her left arm; a curtain at the left. She married, firstly, in 1754 Colonel (in a French regiment) John Cameron of Glenkindy and secondly, the Comte de Fay. A faintly theatrical portrait of probably Elizabeth Hamilton (subject of Reynolds's well-known portrait in a fur coat in the Abercorn Collection).
Provenance
Previously owned by Colonel Sir Donald Cameron of Lochiel, 25th Chief of the Cameron Clan; Bought and bequeathed by Sir Percy Malcolm Stewart (1871-1951) to the National Trust and transferred to Montacute House, 1960 after the death of Lady Stewart; stolen in 1961, recovered 1971.
Credit line
Montacute House, The Malcolm Stewart Bequest (National Trust)
Makers and roles
Sir Joshua Reynolds PRA (Plympton 1723 - London 1792), publisher
References
Sir Joshua Reynolds, An Exhibition of Paintings arranged by the Arts Council of Great Britain. reading, Sunderland, Truro, Folkestone, Swansea, Arts Council, 1949 , No.2 Oliver Millar, 'Sir Joshua Reynolds: Arts Council Exhibition', Burlington Magazine, xci, 1949, p.82, Pl.24. John Woodward and Malcolm Cormack, An Exhibition of Works by Sir Joshua Reynolds P.R.A. 1723-1792. City of Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery,1961, No.12. Waterhouse 1973: Ellis K. Waterhouse, Reynolds, London, 1973 , p.46 Montacute House, Somerset, 1976 [The National Trust; Dudley Dodd] 1976, "THE DRAWING ROOM An Unknown Woman, by Sir Joshua Reynolds." Montacute House, Somerset, 1976 [The National Trust; Dudley Dodd] 1976, An Illustrated Souvenir, Illustrated. Caption to illustration. Unidentified lady by Sir Joshua Reynolds P.R.A., c.1753. The sitter was conceivably Elizabeth Hamilton, a niece of Captain Colin Hamilton, R.N., Reynolds's early friend and pattron. She married firstly Colonel John Cameron of Glenkindy, in 1754 and secondly, the Comte de Fay. The painting was among the items stoled from Montacute House in 1961 which were fortunately recovered in 1971 Stewart Bequest." Montacute House, Somerset, 1991 [The National Trust; Malcolm Rogers] 1991, p.60, i,llus p.60. Caption: "An Unknown Woman, by Sir Joshua Reynolds, c.1753 (Drawing Room) "THE DRAWING ROOM PAINTINGS The sitter of this faintly theatrical portrait may perhaps be Elizabeth Hamilton, a cousin of the artist's early friend and patron, Captain John Hamilton RN, who married first Colonel John Cameron (1754) and secondly the Comte de Fay. It is in a fine rococo frame (Stewart Bequest) Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-92), c.1753." Montacute House, Somerset, 1997 [The National Trust; Malcolm Rogers] 1991, revised 1997 , p.60, i,llus p.60. Caption: "An Unknown Woman, by Sir Joshua Reynolds, c.1753 (Drawing Room) "THE DRAWING ROOM PAINTINGS The sitter of this faintly theatrical portrait may perhaps be Elizabeth Hamilton, a cousin of the artist's early friend and patron, Captain John Hamilton RN, who married first Colonel John Cameron (1754) and secondly the Comte de Fay. It is in a fine rococo frame (Stewart Bequest) Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-92), c.1753." Mannings 2000: David Mannings, Sir Joshua Reynolds: A Complete Catalogue of his Paintings. The Subject Pictures catalogued by Martin Postle, New Haven & London 2000, p.237 "814. HAMILTON. Elizabeth (?) Not securely identified but it was suggested in the catalogue of the Reynolds exhibition in Birmingham 1949 (no.12) that the sitter might be Elizabeth Hamilton, a cousin of the artist's early friend and sitter, Capt. Hamilton (see 818); she married 1st 1754 Col. John Cameron of Glenkindy; married 2nd the Comte de Fay. fig.75. MONTACUTE HOUSE, SOMERSET, THE NATIONAL TRUST 76 x 64 cm PROVENANCE: Bought from Cameron of Lochiel by Sir P. Malcolm Stewart, Bt.; bequeathed by him to the NT; stolen 1961, recovered 1971. EXHIBITED: Arts Council, 1949 (2); Birmingham 1961 (12). LITERATURE: Millar 1949, 82; Waterhouse 1973, 46; M. Rogers, Montacute House, Somerset, NT, 1991, 60-61. Painted c.1753, wearing a grey silk dress, her bonnet tied with a pink ribbon, a light blue scarf in her right hand. Waterhouse dated this picture c.1746 but Malcolm Rogers, assuming that the picture does represent Elizabeth Hamilton, suggest more plausibly c. 1753, i.e. around the time of her first marriage. When the picture was first exhibited in 1949, Oliver Millar judged that it was 'probably painted immediately after Reynolds's return from Italy. It has the cool flesh tones and the blues, greys and silvers of this period.' Restored 1971 by Freeman following recovery from theft." Montacute House, Somerset, 2004-2006 [The National Trust; Malcolm Rogers] 2000, revised 2004, reprinted 2005, 2006, p.48, i,llus p.48. Caption: "An Unknown Woman, by Sir Joshua Reynolds, c.1753 (Drawing Room) "THE DRAWING ROOM PAINTINGS The sitter of this faintly theatrical portrait may perhaps be Elizabeth Hamilton, a cousin of the artist's early friend and patron, Captain John Hamilton RN, who married first Colonel John Cameron (1754) and secondly the Comte de Fay. It is in a fine rococo frame (Stewart Bequest) Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-92), c.1753."