Sir Francis Grant, P.R.A. (1803-1878)

In 1852 Grant painted a portrait of Frances Anne, Marchioness of Londonderry, which was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1853 (no. 398). It is possible that Grant was commissioned concurrently to paint the present portrait of her youngest daughter, who was to be married to Reverend Frederick Henry Law in the same year. By the time the portrait was painted the Londonderrys' other daughters had married: Lady Frances Anne Emily Vane (1822-1899) married John Winston Spencer-Churchill, 7th Duke of Marlborough on 12 July 1843; and Lady Alexandrina Octavia Maria Vane (1823-1874) married Henry John Reuben Dawson-Damer, 3rd Earl of Portarlington on 3 September 1847.