George Romney
Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Marquess of Stafford (1721-1803), 1790s
Oil on canvas
30 x 25 in. (76.2 x 63.5 cm)
Philip Mould & Co.
To view all current artworks for sale visit philipmould.com The link between Romney and Stafford is celebrated in the portrait of the Gower family now belonging to the Duke of...
To view all current artworks for sale visit philipmould.com
The link between Romney and Stafford is celebrated in the portrait of the Gower family now belonging to the Duke of Sutherland. It portrays Stafford's four children, including his stepdaughter, Georgina, and is described by Ward & Roberts as Romney's undoubted masterpiece. It also includes his daughter, Lady Harcourt, who owned this portrait.
This evidently close relationship between artist and family is reflected in our portrait which shows a distinct warmth and empathy. The sitter had already been painted by Romney in 1776 when Lord Gower came to sit on the 25th of November at half pt. 11, and then subsequently at 12.00 am on the 28th.
Dr Edward Vernon (Archbishop Harcourt) married Stafford's daughter, Anne, in February 1784. The family seat, where this portrait used to hang was Nuneham Courtenay, in Newnham, Oxfordshire.
Granville Leveson-Gower was the son of John Leveson-Gower, first Earl Gower. He was educated at Westminster and Christ Church, Oxford, before starting out on a career in public life. He served as MP for Bishop's Castle (1744), for Westminster (1747, 1749), and Lichfield (1754) before succeeding to the Upper House in 1754. He held posts successively as Lord of the Admiralty, 1749-51 and in the Upper House as Lord Privy Seal, 1755-7, and 1785-94; Master of the Horse, 1757-60; Keeper of the Great Wardrobe, 1760-3; Lord Chamberlain of the Household, 1763-5; President of the Council, 1767-79 and 1783-4. He was created a Knight of the Garter in 1771 and Marquis of the County of Stafford in 1786.
The link between Romney and Stafford is celebrated in the portrait of the Gower family now belonging to the Duke of Sutherland. It portrays Stafford's four children, including his stepdaughter, Georgina, and is described by Ward & Roberts as Romney's undoubted masterpiece. It also includes his daughter, Lady Harcourt, who owned this portrait.
This evidently close relationship between artist and family is reflected in our portrait which shows a distinct warmth and empathy. The sitter had already been painted by Romney in 1776 when Lord Gower came to sit on the 25th of November at half pt. 11, and then subsequently at 12.00 am on the 28th.
Dr Edward Vernon (Archbishop Harcourt) married Stafford's daughter, Anne, in February 1784. The family seat, where this portrait used to hang was Nuneham Courtenay, in Newnham, Oxfordshire.
Granville Leveson-Gower was the son of John Leveson-Gower, first Earl Gower. He was educated at Westminster and Christ Church, Oxford, before starting out on a career in public life. He served as MP for Bishop's Castle (1744), for Westminster (1747, 1749), and Lichfield (1754) before succeeding to the Upper House in 1754. He held posts successively as Lord of the Admiralty, 1749-51 and in the Upper House as Lord Privy Seal, 1755-7, and 1785-94; Master of the Horse, 1757-60; Keeper of the Great Wardrobe, 1760-3; Lord Chamberlain of the Household, 1763-5; President of the Council, 1767-79 and 1783-4. He was created a Knight of the Garter in 1771 and Marquis of the County of Stafford in 1786.
Provenance
Granville Leveson-Gower, by whom presented to his son-in-law, Archbishop Harcourt of Newnham, Oxford;Sold Christie's, 11th June 1948(?), lot 165
Literature
Treasures of Art in Great Britain, Dr Waagen, Supp. p. 349;George Romney (1904), Lord Ronald Gower, Trustee of the National Portrait Gallery (illustrated 23rd in sequence at end)