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Provenance

Painted for the sitter's husband, the Hon. Edward Ward [1753-1812], son of Bernard, 1st Viscount Bangor; by descent to Maxwell, 6th Viscount Bangor [1868-1950], Castle Ward, County Down. (M. Knoedler & Co., New York); purchased 1921 by Joseph E. Widener, Lynnewood Hall, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania; inheritance from Estate of Peter A.B. Widener by gift through power of appointment of Joseph E. Widener, Elkins Park, after purchase by funds of the Estate; gift 1942 to NGA.

[1] The additional Viscounts Bangor listed in the former owner table in NGA's collection database are per The Getty Provenance Index.

Exhibition History

1902
Old Masters of the Early English and French Schools, Royal Hibernian Academy of Arts, Dublin, 1902-1903, no. 18.
1903
Eighth Annual Exhibiton on Behalf of the Artists' General Benevolent Institution, Thos. Agnew & Sons, Ltd., 1903, no. 3.

Technical Summary

The medium-heavy weight canvas is twill woven; it has been lined. The ground is lead white over a layer of glue. There is a gray imprimatura. The painting is executed in fluid, thick, opaque layers, blended wet into wet. X-radiographs show substantial changes in the composition. The painting is in good condition. The full-bodied paint has resisted abrasion, but the impasto has been slightly flattened during lining. Retouching is minor, chiefly at the edges of the painting. The thick natural resin varnish has not discolored.

Bibliography

1904
Ward, Humphry and William Roberts. Romney. 2 vols. London, 1904: 1:101-102, 113, repro. opp. 8; 2:165-166.
1923
Paintings in the Collection of Joseph Widener at Lynnewood Hall. Intro. by Wilhelm R. Valentiner. Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, 1923: unpaginated, repro.
1931
Paintings in the Collection of Joseph Widener at Lynnewood Hall. Intro. by Wilhelm R. Valentiner. Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, 1931: 22, repro.
1942
Works of Art from the Widener Collection. Foreword by David Finley and John Walker. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1942: 6.
1948
Paintings and Sculpture from the Widener Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1948 (reprinted 1959): 87, repro.
1963
Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. New York, 1963 (reprinted 1964 in French, German, and Spanish): 320, repro.
1965
Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 116.
1966
Henderson [later Jaffé], Patricia. George Romney. Maestri del Colore series, no. 250). Milan, 1966: color cover.
1968
National Gallery of Art. European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. Washington, 1968: 103, repro.
1975
European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 308, repro.
1975
Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. New York, 1975: no. 516, color repro.
1984
Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 365, no. 509, color repro.
1985
European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 355, 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: 240-243, repro. 241.

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