Anne Parsons (née Messel), Countess of Rosse (London 1902 - Nymans 1992)
Oliver Messel (London 1904 - St James, Barbados 1978)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
c. 1932
Materials
Gouache with charcoal under-drawing on canvas
Measurements
106 x 100 cm
Order this imageCollection
Nymans Estate, West Sussex
NT 1207538
Summary
Gouache with charcoal under-drawing on canvas, Anne Parsons (née Messel), Countess of Rosse (London 1902 - Nymans 1992), by Oliver Messel (London 1904 - Barbados 1978), c. 1932. A half-length portrait of a young woman, seated, looking to the right. She is dressed in the mid-eighteenth century style, and wears a dark gown with low-cut neckline trimmed with white robings, a pale blue wig styled with yellow, pink and white accessories, and rouged cheeks and lips. She holds a handkerchief in her proper right hand. Against a blue background. Within a Florentine frame adapted by the artist. Anne is depicted in a costume designed by her brother Oliver Messel for Charles B. Cochran's production of 'Helen!' (Offenbach) at the Adelphi, London, 1932. The portrait is contemporary with a photoshoot for Helen! by Cecil Beaton in 1932. It was given to the sitter by Messel and hung in the Yellow Drawing Room of her home at Womersley Hall, Yorkshire.
Provenance
Given by the artist to the sitter; hung in the Yellow Drawing Room, Womersley Hall, Yorkshire, after Anne Messel's marriage to the Earl of Rosse in 1935; by descent to the vendor, by whom sold to the National Trust in 2023.
Makers and roles
Oliver Messel (London 1904 - St James, Barbados 1978), artist