Edward Astley, later Sir Edward Astley, 4th Bt Astley of Hill Morton (1729-1802) and his Sister Blanche, later Mrs Edward Pratt as Children, with a Parrot and a Bunch of Grapes
John Theodore Heins, the elder (Germany c.1697 - Norwich 1756)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
1732 (signed and dated)
Materials
Oil on canvas
Measurements
1270 x 1016 mm (50 x 40 in)
Place of origin
England
Order this imageCollection
Seaton Delaval Hall, Northumberland
NT 1276710
Caption
Edward and Lucy Astley were the children of Sir Jacob Astley, 3rd Bt. (1692 – 1760), of Melton Constable and Lucy (1699 – 1739), youngest daughter of Sir Nicholas Le Strange, 4th Bt. of Hunstanton. Edward succeeded to the title in 1760, and in 1768 he stood successfully as M.P. for Norfolk, a position that he held until 1790. He married Rhoda Delaval (1725 – 1757) in 1751, who died in childbirth, having borne him three sons and a daughter. Through her, his descendants succeeded to Seaton Delaval. He married, secondly, Anne Milles in 1759 (d.1793), who bore him five sons and two daughters; and thirdly, Elizabeth Bullen in 1793 (d.1810), who bore him no children. He died aged 72. His sister married Edward Pratt of Ryston. The children’s sumptuous dress and the exotic fruits and pets are symbols of their wealth and status. They have, however, been portrayed with a charming playfulness, through expression and pose.
Summary
Oil painting on canvas, Edward Astley, later Sir Edward Astley, 4th Bt Astley of Hill Morton (1729-1802) and his sister Blanche, later Mrs Edward Pratt, as children, by John Theodore (Dirck) Heins, the elder (Germany c.1697 - Norwich 1756), signed and dated, bottom left: Heins, Fec: 1732. Two full-length portraits of the children of Sir Jacob Astley, 3rd Bt and his wife Lucy L’Estrange. Blanche is standing on the left, in powdered hair, wearing a flowered dress with a blue cloak, draped on her left shoulder and held in her right hand, she is feeding a grape to a parrot standing on a ring suspened from the ceiling above her, her brother, Edward, sits on the right, wearing a small scarlet cap with a white plume and a scarlet gown his he holds up a bunch of grapes with his right hand and rests on left hand on the head of a dog, sitting on the far right.
Full description
Children of Sir Jacob Astley, 3rd Bt. (1692 – 1760), of Melton Constable and Lucy (1699 – 1739), youngest daughter of Sir Nicholas Le Strange, 4th Bt. of Hunstanton. Edward succeeded to the title in 1760, and in 1768 he stood successfully as M.P. for Norfolk, a position that he held until 1790. He married Rhoda Delaval (1725 – 1757) in 1751, but who died in childbirth, having borne him three sons and a daughter. By her, he was bequeathed Seaton Delaval. He married, secondly, Anne Milles in 1759 (d.1793), who bore him five sons and two daughters; and thirdly, Elizabeth Bullen in 1793 (d.1810), who bore him no issue. He died aged 72. His sister married Edward Pratt of Ryston. (Amanda Bradley)
Provenance
By descent in the Le Strange family, Hunstanton Hall; sold Sotheby’s, London, 18th November 1987, lot 37 (£18,700); bt. by Lord Hastings; accepted in lieu of tax by H.M. Treasury and transferred to the National Trust in 2009
Credit line
Seaton Delaval, The Hastings Collection (National Trust)
Marks and inscriptions
Bottom left: signed: Heins, Fec: 1732
Makers and roles
John Theodore Heins, the elder (Germany c.1697 - Norwich 1756) , artist