Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire

c. 1787/1796

Gainsborough Dupont

Painter, British, 1754 - 1797

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on canvas

  • Credit Line

    Ailsa Mellon Bruce Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall: 59.1 x 39.9 cm (23 1/4 x 15 11/16 in.)
    framed: 77.2 x 57.2 x 6.4 cm (30 3/8 x 22 1/2 x 2 1/2 in.)

  • Accession

    1970.17.119

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

George Agar-Ellis, 1st Baron Dover [1797-1833];[1] by descent to his granddaughter, the Hon. Lilah Agar-Ellis, later Lady Annaly [1862-1944], until c. 1922. (M. Knoedler & Co., London and New York); sold January 1922 to Andrew W. Mellon, Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C.; gift to his daughter, Ailsa Mellon Bruce [1901-1969], New York, by 1937; bequest 1970 to NGA.
[1] George Agar-Ellis was married to Lady Georgiana Howard, granddaughter of the sitter. His mother was Lady Caroline Spencer [d. 1813], eldest daughter of George, 4th Duke of Marlborough and cousin of the sitter. It is possible that Lady Caroline may have inherited the painting from Georgiana or her husband, William, 5th Duke of Devonshire [1748-1811], and bequeathed it to her son. George's son was Henry Agar-Ellis, whose daughter, the Hon. Lilah Agar-Ellis, later Lady Annaly, inherited the painting.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1867

  • National Portraits, South Kensington Museum, London, 1867, no. 470.

1885

  • The Works of Thomas Gainsborough, R.A., Grosvenor Gallery, London, 1885, no. 40.

Bibliography

1903

  • Gower, Lord Ronald Sutherland. Thomas Gainsborough. London, 1903: repro. opp. 66.

1953

  • Waterhouse, Ellis Kirkham. "Preliminary Check List of Portraits by Thomas Gainsborough." Walpole Society 33 [1948-1950] (1953): 29.

1975

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 144, repro.

1985

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 140, repro.

1992

  • Hayes, John. British Paintings of the Sixteenth through Nineteenth Centuries. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 1992: 66-68, repro. 67.

Wikidata ID

Q20179457

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