Mary Helden (1726 - 1766) and an Unidentified Enslaved Child
Charles Phillips (London 1708 - London 1748)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
1739
Materials
Oil on canvas
Measurements
2325 x 1475 mm
Place of origin
England
Order this imageCollection
Sprivers, Kent
NT 863685
Summary
Oil painting on canvas, Mary Helden (1726 - 1766) and an Unidentified Enslaved Child by Charles Phillips (London 1708 - London 1748), 1739. A full-length portrait of a young woman in white satin dress, standing on a terrace. At left a child, wearing a metal collar, light green livery, red breeches, a white turban and pearl earring, holds a tray of fruit and looks up at the woman. A spaniel stands in front of the woman looking at the viewer. Mary Helden married Thomas Foster (1720 - 1765), of Elim, Jamaica and Egham House, Surrey, MP for Bossiney, Devon, 1741 and 1742-7 and Dorchester, 1762-65 on 2 June 1741. Note on the Unidentified Enslaved Child: That the attendant is a child of African descent wearing a metal collar indicates he was enslaved. It is not known if the child was included by the artist as a trope or as a portrait of a real individual.
Provenance
Christie's, 15th October 1940; bequeathed by Robert Courthorpe (1891 - 1966), with the house, parkland, orchards and woods
Marks and inscriptions
Verso: Mary, daughter of John Helden of Egham, wife of Thomas Foster, elder son of Colonel John Foster, in white satin dress, standing on a terrace, her negro page Sambo and a dog by her side
Makers and roles
Charles Phillips (London 1708 - London 1748), artist