Frederick Augustus Hervey, 4th Earl of Bristol and Bishop of Derry (1730-1803)
attributed to Hugh Douglas Hamilton (Dublin 1739/40 - Dublin 1808)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
circa 1805
Materials
Oil on canvas
Measurements
1575 x 1219 mm (62 x 48 in)
Place of origin
Great Britain
Order this imageCollection
Ickworth, Suffolk
NT 851740
Caption
Frederick Augustus was the capricious and eccentric fourth son of John, Lord Hervey (1696-1743) and Mary Lepel. He succeeded his brother as 4th Earl in 1779. He is known as a traveller (mainly in Italy), builder (Ickworth, Ballyscullion and Down Hill), and collector. Although this portrait has long been attributed to Angelica Kauffman, it looks most like a Hugh Douglas Hamilton, but very late in style. The likeness was probably taken from an ad vivum portrait – very possibly a miniature, and was probably commissioned by the sitter’s eldest son, Frederick William, 5th Earl & later 1st Marquess of Bristol (1769-1859). Although the church in the painting propped up beside the Earl-Bishop has always been called Derry Cathedral, its tower and spire bear no resemblance to the tower with the octagonal spire that he had built in 1778. It looks much more like one of the ordinary parish churches that he had rebuilt in the 1790s.
Summary
Oil painting on canvas, Frederick Augustus Hervey, 4th Earl of Bristol and Bishop of Derry (1730 - 1803), attributed to Hugh Douglas Hamilton RHA (Dublin 1739/40 - Dublin 1808); head possibly by Angelica Kauffman, RA (Chur 1741 - Rome 1807), circa 1805. A full-length portrait of an elderly man, turned to the right, gazing at the spectator, seated, wearing a grey coat. His right hand rests on a table covered with a green cloth. He holds a letter in his left hand. A framed picture, reputedly of Derry Cathedral, rests on the floor, right, and behind is an overlife-size marble head. Since the portrait is English and shows him in old age, when he was living abroad, it was probably painted posthumously.
Provenance
Possibly commissioned by the sitter’s eldest son, Frederick William, 5th Earl & later 1st Marquess of Bristol (1769-1859); thence by descent; on the death of the 4th Marquess (1863-1951), valued for probate; accepted by HM Treasury in lieu of tax and transferred to the National Trust in 1956
Credit line
Ickworth, The Bristol Collection (acquired through the National Land Fund and transferred to The National Trust in 1956)
Makers and roles
attributed to Hugh Douglas Hamilton (Dublin 1739/40 - Dublin 1808), artist previously catalogued as attributed to Angelica Kauffman RA (Chur 1741 – Rome 1807), artist British (English) School, artist
References
Farrer 1908 Edmund Farrer, Portraits in Suffolk Houses (West), 1908, no. 61 Manners 1921 Lady Victoria Manners, ‘Angelica Kauffman and her Art’, The Connoisseur, vol.LIX, 1921, p.4, reproduced. Manners and Williamson, 1924: Lady Victoria Manners and G.C.Williamson, Angelica Kauffmann, London, 1924, p.180, reproduced, p.124 Laing 2000 Alastair Laing, 'Sir Rowland and Lady Winn: A Conversation Piece in the Library at Nostell Priory' Apollo, April 2000, pp.14-18, pp.17 & 18 nn.19-23 & fig.5