Sir Joshua Reynolds

(Plympton 1723-1792 Richmond)

and Studio

Portrait of Sir John Lockhart-Ross, 6th Bt., three-quarter-length, in naval uniform

Footnotes

Provenance
Possibly painted for Lord Hyndford
Possibly Collection of Sir William Bass
Possibly, his sale, Knight, Frank & Rutley, Berkeley Lodge, 30 June 1913, lot 1475
Sale, Christie's, London, 29-30 September 1977, lot 88 (bt. D C Cooke)
Collection of James W. DeLasho, USA, until 2018
Private Collection, USA

Literature
A. Graves and G. Cronin, A History of the Works of Sir Joshua Reynolds, P.R.A., London, 1899, vol. II, cat. no. 591
D. Mannings, Sir Joshua Reynolds, A Complete Catalogue of his Paintings, New Haven and London, 2000, p. 310, cat. no. 1141, fig. 545

John Lockhart was from a Scottish family and was the fifth son of Sir James Lockhart, 2nd Baronet of Carstairs. He had a distinguished naval career and served as Hawke's flag-captain in the Royal George. Two years before he married in 1762 he inherited his brother's estate at Balnagown in Ross-shire, as a condition of which he changed his name to Ross. For a number of years he managed his estates, returning to sea to command the Shrewsbury in the Channel Fleet in 1777. The following year he inherited the family baronetcy and was made a Rear-Admiral soon after, subsequently being elevated to Vice-Admiral of the Blue in 1787.

This painting appears to be the version of the Ross portrait painted for Lord Hyndford, possibly sold in the Sir William Bass sale at Berkeley Lodge in 1913 and subsequently at Christie's, London, September 29-30, 1977 (lot 88). A payment was logged in Reynolds's records for 1763 for a painting of 'Capt. Lockhart for Lord Hindford'.