The Hon. Mary Mansel, Mrs John Ivory Talbot
Michael Dahl (Stockholm 1659 - London 1743)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
circa 1730
Materials
Oil on canvas
Measurements
1245 x 991 mm (49 x 39 in)
Place of origin
England
Order this imageCollection
Lacock, Wiltshire
NT 996326
Caption
This portrait of Mary Mansel was painted as a pair to that of her husband, John Ivory Talbot, whom she is said to have driven to drink. She was the youngest daughter of Thomas, 1st Baron Mansel, of Margam Abbey, Glamorgan. She had three children: John Talbot, who succeeded to Lacock; Martha Talbot; and Thomas, who became 4th Baron Mansel. There remained close links for several generations between the Talbots of Lacock and their Welsh cousins at Margam, who gave their name to the docks at Port Talbot. Michael Dahl was born in Stockholm, but settled in London in 1689. He was one of the most successful portrait painters of the era.
Summary
Oil painting on canvas, The Hon. Mary Mansel, Mrs John Ivory Talbot, Michael Dahl (Stockholm 1656/9 – London 1743). A three-quarter length portrait, facing in ivory coloured dress, her right arm at her side, her left elbow resting on a plinth, with a landscape background. Mary Mansel, wife of John Ivory Talbot, and daughter of Thomas, Lord Mansel of Margam, near Port Talbot in Wales. Their second son, Thomas inherited Margam and throughout the nineteenth century the Lacock and Margam Talbots maintained a close relationship. Their daughter, Martha Talbot, married the Reverend William Davenport.
Provenance
Given by Matilda Theresa Talbot (formerly Gilchrist-Clark) (1871 – 1958), who gave the Abbey, the village of Lacock and the rest of the estate to the National Trust in 1944, along with 96 of the family portraits and other pictures, in 1948
Credit line
Lacock Abbey, The Talbot Collection (National Trust)
Makers and roles
Michael Dahl (Stockholm 1659 - London 1743), artist