Poppy Harvey-Jones
Head of Sale
Lot 86
George Romney(Beckside 1734-1802 Kendal)Sketches for Viscountess Bulkeley as Hebe
Amended
17 December 2020, 14:00 GMT
London, New Bond StreetSold for £4,845 inc. premium
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George Romney (Beckside 1734-1802 Kendal)
Sketches for Viscountess Bulkeley as Hebe
brush and brown ink on laid paper
30.9 x 28cm (12 3/16 x 11in).
brush and brown ink on laid paper
30.9 x 28cm (12 3/16 x 11in).
Footnotes
Provenance
Collection of R.C. Harford (according to a label on the reverse)
Sale, Christie's, London, 6 June 1972, lot 90
With Agnews, London (according to a label on the reverse)
Collection of Dr Alfred Scharf, and by descent to the present owner
The present sketch is a study for Romney's life-size oil portrait of Elizabeth Warren, later Lady Bulkeley (1757-1826) now in the National Museum, Cardiff (see fig. 1). It was commissioned by the sitter's father for whom Romney had painted a family portrait in 1769 when Elizabeth was just a child. Possibly the 1776 portrait of Elizabeth – for which there were six sittings - marked her engagement as it shows her at the age of 18 or 19.
Romney has chosen to show her as Hebe, cupbearer to the gods, standing in a dramatic landscape with her shawl billowing out behind her. While the subject was one that was popular with other artists of his time, the treatment both in Romney's sketches and the finished painting was entirely new and marks a watershed in his stylistic development. The bold, sweeping brush strokes in the present ink study are a product of his recent trip to Italy (1772-5) in the company of his fellow artist Ozias Humphrey, and they became a hallmark of his ink sketches over the next decade. This greater spontaneity is also reflected in the finished painting of Elizabeth which has a new freedom that was to characterise his portraits thereafter. So while this commission was significant in relaunching Romney's career after his return to London, it also marks an important turning point in his working practice.
A full length drawing for the same composition, formerly the property of Mrs E. Russell Jacks, was offered at Christie's, London, 17 June 1969, lot 140.
Saleroom notices
Please note that the provenance for the present lot should read and not as previously stated: Collection of R.C. Harford (according to a label on the reverse) Sale, Christie's, London, 6 June 1972, lot 90 With Agnews, London (according to a label on the reverse) Private Collection, UK
