William John Bankes MP (1786-1855)
George Sanders (Kinghorn, Fife 1774 - London 1846)
Category
Art / Miniatures
Date
1812
Materials
Watercolour on ivory
Measurements
114 mm (H)89 mm (W)
Place of origin
England
Order this imageCollection
Kingston Lacy Estate, Dorset
NT 1251251
Caption
Does the handsome young man depicted in this watercolour miniature, dubbed ‘the father of all mischiefs’ by Lord Bryon, capture something of the character of William Bankes? Bankes was a Romantic aesthete who rebuilt his ancestral home of Kingston Lacy, adding many splendid works of art and furnishings he collected while travelling in Spain, Italy and the Middle East. A pioneer Egyptologist, he brought back the imposing Philae obelisk, an iconic feature in the grounds at Kingston Lacy today. William’s private life was colourful, with many rumours of affairs with married women but in 1841 he was caught with a guardsman in London’s Green Park. The crime of sodomy still carried the death penalty, so he escaped abroad, spending his last fourteen years in Venice, a time-honoured destination for the exiled and fallen. Although unable to return to Kingston Lacy, William continued to collect, sending objects to Dorset to be displayed in his beloved home. Sadly, he never saw the culmination of his years of collecting but we are fortunate to have been left his remarkable legacy.
Summary
Portrait miniature, watercolour on ivory; William Bankes MP (1786-1855) by George Sanders (Kinghorn, Fife 1774 - London 1846). Half length portrait, as a young man, turned to left, head to spectator, wearing an undergraduate's red robe with fur trimming and white neckcloth, Blue eyes, golden hair, column background to left.
Makers and roles
George Sanders (Kinghorn, Fife 1774 - London 1846), artist