Portrait bust of Lady Frances Anne Vane-Tempest, Marchioness of Londonderry (1800-1865)
John Edward Jones (Dublin 1806 - Finglas 1862)
Category
Art / Sculpture
Date
1858
Materials
Marble
Measurements
705 x 390 x 290 mm
Place of origin
London
Order this imageCollection
Mount Stewart, County Down
NT 1542342
Summary
Sculpture, marble; Portrait bust of Lady Frances Anne Vane-Tempest-Stewart, Marchioness of Londonderry (1800-1865); John Edward Jones (1806-1862); 1858. A portrait bust by the successful Irish portrait sculptor John Edward Jones, depicting Lady Frances Anne Vane-Tempest, widow of Charles Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry (1778-1854). It is one of four busts commissioned from the Irish sculptor John Edward Jones in 1857 and 1858, depicting the 3rd Marchioness, two of her sons and her daughter-in-law.
Full description
A portrait bust of Lady Frances Anne VaneTempest, Marchioness of Londonderry (1800-1865), depicting the sitter facing to her right. She wears a dress with a Greek key pattern border at the neck, and on her head a bonnet with a border with scrolling decoration, also in the Greek style. Over her right shoulder is a cloak. Her hair is parted in the middle and done up in a thick plait that runs over the top of her head, when seen from the front echoing the appearance of a tiara. Tucked into her hair at left is a drooping lily of the valley. The bust is mounted on a circular white marble socle and is signed and dated on the back. One of a group of four portrait busts commissioned in 1858 from the London-based Irish sculptor John Edward Jones, depicting the widowed Lady Londonderry and three membersa of her close family. The other portraits are of her first and second sons, George Vane-Tempest, later 5th Marquess of Londonderry (NT 1542336) and Lord Adolphus Vane-Tempest (NT 1542335), and of her daughter-in-law Mary Cornelia Vane-Tempest, later 5th Marchioness (NT 1542343). Frances Anne Vane Tempest was the only daughter and heir of Sir Henry Vane Tempest, 2nd Baronet of Long Newton in County Durham, and Anne Catharine McDonnell, eldest daughter of the 1st Marquess and 6th Earl of Antrim. On the death of her father in 1813, she became one of the wealthiest heiresses in the country, inheriting large estates in Co. Durham with extensive coal-mining interests, as well as the seat of Wynyard Park. In 1818 she met Lord Charles Stewart, whom she married in 1819. Although her husband was 22 years her elder, the couple proved well-matched, Lady Londonderry relishing her high social position and Lord Londonderry the enormous riches that his wife brought to the marriage. Lady Londonderry was often criticised for her obsession with status and jewellery and for her haughty pride, but the sculptor has here created a sympathetic and relatively informal portrait of the subject in late middle age. John Edward Jones was born in Dublin and began his professional career as an engineer working both in Ireland and in Britain. He also however showed aptitude as an amateur sculptor and draughtsman. In around 1840 Jones decided to change career to become a professional artist, based in London. He enjoyed considerable success as a portrait sculptor, frequently exhibiting at the Royal Academy in London and at the Royal Hibernian Academy in Dublin. Jeremy Warren June 2022
Provenance
Wynyard Park; on loan from the Estate of the Marquess of Londonderry
Credit line
Estate of the Marquess of Londonderry
Marks and inscriptions
On back:: J.E. JONES. Sc./ LONDON. 1858.
Makers and roles
John Edward Jones (Dublin 1806 - Finglas 1862), sculptor
References
Wynyard 1949: Inventory and Valuation of the Contents of Wynyard Park, Co. Durham, the property of the Most Honourable the Marquess of Londonderry… deceased. Prepared for the purpose of probate by H. Clifford-Smith. 1949, p. 35.