Sir Brownlow Cust (1744-1807), 1st Baron Brownlow
Joseph Nollekens, RA (London 1737 – London 1823)
Category
Art / Sculpture
Date
1809 (signed and dated)
Materials
Carrara marble on turned marble socle
Measurements
660 x 460 mm
Place of origin
London
Order this imageCollection
Belton House, Lincolnshire
NT 436762
Summary
Carrara marble on turned marble socle, probably Sir Brownlow Cust (1744-1807), 1st Baron Brownlow, 1809, Joseph Nollekens, signed and dated ‘Nollekens Ft 1809’ on truncation. Cust is shown facing left, with hair brushed forward and wearing ermine-trimmed peers’ robes. The bust is mounted on a turned socle.
Full description
Brownlow Cust was a Tory MP elected to the House of Commons for Ilchester in 1766. He held that seat until 1774 before representing Grantham until 1776. He was then raised to the peerage as Baron Brownlow; see portrait by George Romney of Cust in peers’ robes (NT 436152). One bust of ‘Lord Brownlow’ is listed in J.T. Smith’s biography Nollekens and His Times (Smith 1829, vol.II, p.67), however this appears to be Nollekens’ bust of Sir Brownlow Cust’s son, John Cust, 1st Earl Brownlow (1779-1853) (NT 436769) which was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1810. The bust of Sir Brownlow Cust is not listed by JT Smith. In Ingrid Roscoe's third edition of Gunnis' Dictionary of British Sculptors 1660–1851 the bust is catalogued as 'Male bust (formerly known as ‘Earl Brownlow’), that is John Cust, 1st Earl Brownlow depicted in NT 436769. The Belton Annual Account for 1810 shows that a payment of ‘£264-12-0d’ was made to ‘Nollekins for Bust of the late Lord Brownlow and for a bust of Mr. Pitt’ (NT 436765). The 1830 and 1922 inventories for the study at Belton House list the bust as: ‘Marble bust of the Late Lord Brownlow’ and 'Bust Brownlow, 1st Baron Brownlow Nollekins' respectively. Alice Rylance-Watson October 2018
Provenance
Acquired by John Cust, 1st Earl Brownlow (1779-1853) 1810; purchased with a grant from the National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF) from Edward John Peregrine Cust, 7th Baron Brownlow, C. St J. (b.1936) in 1984.
Credit line
Belton House, The Brownlow Collection (acquired with the help of the National Heritage Memorial Fund by the National Trust in 1994)
Makers and roles
Joseph Nollekens, RA (London 1737 – London 1823), sculptor