Henrietta Marchant Liston (Mrs. Robert Liston)
1800
Painter, American, 1755 - 1828


West Building Main Floor, Gallery 60-A
Artwork overview
-
Medium
oil on canvas
-
Credit Line
-
Dimensions
overall: 74 x 61.3 cm (29 1/8 x 24 1/8 in.)
framed: 92.4 x 79.7 x 8.3 cm (36 3/8 x 31 3/8 x 3 1/4 in.) -
Accession
1960.12.1
Artwork history & notes
Provenance
The sitter's grand-niece and heir, Henrietta Ramage Liston Foulis [d. 1850], Millburn Tower, County Edinburgh, Scotland;[1] her son, Sir James Liston Foulis, 9th baronet [1847-1895], Woodhall and Millburn Tower, County Edinburgh; his son, Sir William Liston Foulis, 10th baronet [1869-1918], Woodhall and Millburn Tower, County Edinburgh; (P. & D. Colnaghi & Obach, London, on joint account with M. Knoedler & Co., New York), 16 December 1919; sold April 1920 to Elbert H. Gary [1846-1927], New York;[2] sale of his estate (American Art Association, New York, 8 December 1934, no. 385); bought by Chester Dale [1883-1962], New York; gift 1960 to NGA.
[1] After Miss Liston married Sir William Foulis, 8th Baronet (1812-1858) in 1843, he assumed the name Liston. On the baronetcy see George Edward Cokayne, Complete Baronetage, 6 vols., Exeter, England, 1900-1909, 2 (1902):401-403, and Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 105th ed., London, 1970, 1043-1044.
[2] Melissa De Medeiros, librarian, M. Knoedler & Co, provided information about Knoedler's ownership and subsequent sales in a letter of 5 June 1992 (NGA curatorial file).
[3] American Art Association, Important Rugs, Paintings, Georgian Silver and English Furniture from the Estate of the Late Elbert H. Gary and from the Estate of the Late Emma T. Gary, New York, 1934, 78, repro.; see "When Genuine Raeburns Turn Out to Be Absolute Stuarts," Art Digest 9, no. 5 (1 December 1934), 8, and "Active Bidding Marks Auction of Gary Estate," Art News 33, no. 11 (15 December 1934), 3; on Gary see Dictionary of American Biography, 20 vols., New York, 1928-1936, reprinted in 10 vols. with 8 supplements, New York, 1944-1988, 4:175-176.
Associated Names
Exhibition History
1884
Scottish National Portraits, Edinburgh, 1884, no. 264, as by Sir Henry Raeburn
1937
An Exhibition of American Paintings from the Chester Dale Collection, Union League Club, New York, 1937, no. 6
1965
The Chester Dale Bequest, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1965, unnumbered checklist.
Bibliography
n.d.
Liston, Mrs. Robert. Correspondence. National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh.
1843
Cunningham, Allan. The Life of Sir David Wilkie; with his Journals, Tours, and Critical Remarks on Works of Art; and a Selection from his Correspondence. 3 vols. London, 1843: 2:119.
1901
Armstrong, Sir Walter. Sir Henry Raeburn. London, 1901: 106.
1904
Pinnington, Edward. Sir Henry Raeburn, R.A.. London, 1904: 238.
1911
Greig, James. Sir Henry Raeburn, R.A., London, 1911: 51.
1920
Fielding, Mantle. "Addenda and Corrections to Paintings by Gilbert Stuart. Not Noted in Mason's Life of Stuart." Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography 44 (January 1920): 89.
1926
Park 1926, 480, no. 494, repro.
1932
Whitley 1932, 117.
1934
"When Genuine Raeburns Turn Out to be Absolute Gilbert Stuarts." Art Digest 9, no. 5 (1 December 1934): 8.
1935
Comstock, Helen. "A Recapitulation of Portraits Recovered for Gilbert Stuart." Connoisseur 95 (February 1935): 99-100, repro.
1954
Perkins, Bradford. "A Diplomat's Wife in Philadelphia: Letters of Henrietta Liston, 1796-1800." William and Mary Quarterly 11, no. 4 (January 1954): 592-632, repro.
1961
Wright, Esmond. "Robert Liston, Second British Minister to the United States." History Today 11, no. 2 (February 1961): 118-127, repro.
1962
Cairns, Huntington, and John Walker, eds. Treasures from the National Gallery of Art. New York, 1962: 136, color repro., as Lady Liston.
1963
Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. New York, 1963 (reprinted 1964 in French, German, and Spanish): 321, repro., as Lady Liston.
1964
Mount 1964, 231, 371.
1965
Paintings other than French in the Chester Dale Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 28, repro., as Lady Liston.
1970
American Paintings and Sculpture: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1970: 104, repro., as Lady Liston.
1975
Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. New York, 1975: 382, color repro.
1980
American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1980: 231, repro.
1981
Williams, William James. A Heritage of American Paintings from the National Gallery of Art. New York, 1981: repro. 67.
1984
Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 378, no. 532, color repro., as Lady Liston.
1986
McLanathan 1986, 99-100, color repro.
1992
American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 351, repro.
1995
Miles, Ellen G. American Paintings of the Eighteenth Century. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 1995: 224-227, color repro. 225.
Inscriptions
on reverse, in a later hand (covered by the lining canvas): Lady Liston / Wife of the Right Hon. Sir Robert Liston GCB / Her Brittanic Majesty's / Ambassador to the / Sublime Porte / Painter Raeburn
Wikidata ID
Q20180654