The Hon. Charles James Fox MP (1749-1806)
Joseph Nollekens, RA (London 1737 – London 1823)
Category
Art / Sculpture
Date
1770 - 1806
Materials
Marble
Measurements
560 Height x 470 Width x 230 mm Depth
Collection
Petworth House and Park, West Sussex
NT 486399
Summary
Marble, The Hon. Charles James Fox MP (1749-1806) by Joseph Nollekens (1737-1823). A marble portrait bust in Roman pose with draped toga. Charles James Fox (1749-1806), British statesman and foreign secretary (1782, 1783, 1806), was born in London and studied at Oxford, becoming a Liberal MP at 19. Two years later he was a junior lord of the Admiralty. He supported Lord North, but in 1772 resigned over American policy. He became secretary of state after North's downfall, and in 1783 formed a coalition with him, which held office for a short period in 1783. He supported the French Revolution, and strongly opposed the war with France. After Pitt's death (1806) he was recalled to office, but died soon afterwards.
Provenance
?Collected by George, 3rd Earl of Egremont, thence by descent, until the death in 1952 of the 3rd Lord Leconfield, who had given Petworth to the National Trust in 1947, and whose nephew and heir, John Wyndham, 6th Lord Leconfield and 1st Lord Egremont (1920-72) arranged for the acceptance of the major portion of the collections at Petworth in lieu of death duties (the first ever such arrangement) in 1956 by H.M.Treasury.
Marks and inscriptions
95 (painted on front of socle)
Makers and roles
Joseph Nollekens, RA (London 1737 – London 1823), sculptor