Picture Archive & Historical Portraits
Skip to main content
  • Menu
  • Artists
  • Artworks
  • Image Licensing
  • Philip Mould Gallery
  • Contact
Menu
Richard Cosway

Richard Cosway

Richard Cosway, Portrait miniature of Miss Barbara Evelyn Isabella Gunning, c. 1800

Richard Cosway

Portrait miniature of Miss Barbara Evelyn Isabella Gunning, c. 1800
Watercolour on ivory
Oval, 69mm (2 ¾ inches) high
Philip Mould & Co.
License Image
%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22artist%22%3ERichard%20Cosway%3C/div%3E%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22title_and_year%22%3E%3Cspan%20class%3D%22title_and_year_title%22%3EPortrait%20miniature%20of%20Miss%20Barbara%20Evelyn%20Isabella%20Gunning%3C/span%3E%2C%20%3Cspan%20class%3D%22title_and_year_year%22%3Ec.%201800%3C/span%3E%3C/div%3E%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22medium%22%3EWatercolour%20on%20ivory%3C/div%3E%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22dimensions%22%3EOval%2C%2069mm%20%282%20%C2%BE%20inches%29%20high%3C/div%3E
To view all current artworks for sale visit philipmould.com This portrait miniature was not only produced by one of the most successful artists in Regency England, Richard Cosway, but also...
Read more

To view all current artworks for sale visit philipmould.com


This portrait miniature was not only produced by one of the most successful artists in Regency England, Richard Cosway, but also demonstrates an outstanding provenance that can be traced back to the sitter.

Barbara Gunning was the daughter of Sir Robert Gunning of Horton, Northampton and Anne Sutton. Robert Gunning was a British diplomat who had resided at both the courts of Berlin and St Petersburg as minister plenipotentiary before being created a baronet in 1778. Both of his daughters, Barbara Evelyn Isabella and Charlotte Margaret were painted by George Romney, the fashionable society portraitist, between 1780 and 1784.

Gunning married Major-General Alexander Ross (1742-1827) three months after this miniature was painted and their union joined not only their own families but commenced a close, and later familial, relationship with the Cornwallises. Ross had served with distinction in the American War of Independence as an aide-de-camp to Marquess Cornwallis and quickly became his good friend. Cornwallis wrote a touching letter to Ross three days after his marriage in 1795;

‘I should wish you and Mrs. Ross joy, and I do most truly assure you that no person can more sincerely wish you both a long enjoyment of health and happiness than myself…tell Mrs. Ross, that although I have had the pleasure of seeing her but once, I trust that we shall henceforward be considered as intimate friends.’

The Rosses had a son, Charles Ross (1799-1860) who became a politician. In 1825, two years before his father’s death, Charles married the grand-daughter of his father’s intimate friend, Lady Mary Cornwallis (1804-1872).

Until now, this portrait miniature has been in the possession of the Whatman family, descendants of James Whatman (1702-1759), the paper manufacturer. Charles and Lady Mary Ross had several children including Louisa Isabella Ross, born in 1826. Louisa married James Whatman of Vintners near Maidstone (1813-1887) in 1850, an English Liberal Politician and great-grandson of the paper-manufacturer. The couple lived with Lady Ross at Vinters, who is known to have been in possession of the present portrait when it was exhibited at South Kensington Museum in 1865.
Close full details

Provenance

The sitter;
Her son Charles Ross and his wife Lady Mary Ross (née Cornwallis);
By family descent.

Exhibitions

Special Exhibition of Portrait Miniatures on Loan at the South Kensington Museum, London, 1865, no. 548 (lent by Lady Mary Ross);
Paris Universal Exhibition of 1867, no. 532 (lent by Lady Mary Ross);
‘Exhibition of works by The Old Masters and by Deceased Masters of the British School’, Royal Academy of Arts, London 1879, no. 25.

Literature

G.C. Williamson Richard Cosway, R.A. and his Wife and Pupils (London), 1897, p.118;
‘Catalogue of the British section’, Paris Universal Exhibition (London, 1868), no. 532.
Share
  • Facebook
  • X
  • Pinterest
  • Tumblr
  • Email
Previous
|
Next
5 
of  30
PHILIP MOULD & COMPANY
CONTACT

+44 (0)20 7499 6818
art@philipmould.com

18-19 Pall Mall
London SW1Y 5LU

philipmould.com

FOLLOW US

Instagram

Facebook

TikTok

YouTube

Artsy

 

Join the mailing list
Manage cookies
Copyright © 2025 Picture Archive & Historical Portraits
Site by Artlogic

This website uses cookies
This site uses cookies to help make it more useful to you. Please contact us to find out more about our Cookie Policy.

Manage cookies
Accept

Cookie preferences

Check the boxes for the cookie categories you allow our site to use

Cookie options
Required for the website to function and cannot be disabled.
Improve your experience on the website by storing choices you make about how it should function.
Allow us to collect anonymous usage data in order to improve the experience on our website.
Allow us to identify our visitors so that we can offer personalised, targeted marketing.
Save preferences
Close

Be the first to hear about our available artworks

Interests *

Sign Up

* denotes required fields

We will process the personal data you have supplied in accordance with our privacy policy (available on request). You can unsubscribe or change your preferences at any time by clicking the link in our emails.