Live Auction 20027Jasper Conran: The Collection Part I
SIR THOMAS LAWRENCE, P.R.A. (BRISTOL 1769-1830 LONDON) AND STUDIO
Lot 78

SIR THOMAS LAWRENCE, P.R.A. (BRISTOL 1769-1830 LONDON) AND STUDIO

Portrait of Mary, Lady Arundell (1781-1853), three-quarter-length, in a white dress and jewelled turban

Closed14 September 2021

Price Realised

GBP 50,000

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SIR THOMAS LAWRENCE, P.R.A. (BRISTOL 1769-1830 LONDON) AND STUDIO
Portrait of Mary, Lady Arundell (1781-1853), three-quarter-length, in a white dress and jewelled turban
oil on canvas
50 x 40 in. (127 x 101.5 cm.)

Commissioned as a double portrait by James Everard Arundell, 9th Baron Arundell of Wardour (1763–1817), Wardour Castle, Wiltshire, circa 1812, (200 gns), remained unfinished in the studio at the time of Lawrence's death, from where claimed on 29 March 1830 by the following,
Mary, Lady Arundell (1787-1845), wife of James Everard Arundell, 10th Baron Arundell of Wardour (1785-1834), Wardour Castle, Wiltshire.
Colonel Clement William Joseph Unthank (1847-1936), Intwood Hall, near Norwich; his sale, Robinson and Fisher, London, 28 May 1897 (=2nd day), lot 188, as a double portrait (700 gns.).
with Renton.
Anonymous sale [The Property of a Gentleman]; Robinson and Fisher, London, 21 June 1900, lot 156, as a double portrait.
with Arthur Tooth, London.
with T.J. Blakeslee, New York, from whom acquired in 1914 by the following,
with Robert C. Vose, Boston, from whom acquired in 1923 by the following,
Arthur J. Secor (1857-1941), Toledo, by whom gifted in 1926 to the following,
The Toledo Museum of Art, Ohio; Christie's, New York, 30 January 2014, lot 283.
with Daniel Hunt Fine Art, London, November 2014, where acquired by the present owner.

Specialist note


This portrait, with the sumptuous silks and glittering jewels, was executed at the point when Lawrence was emerging as the unrivalled star of British portraiture. Mary was the daughter of Robert Burnett Jones, who held the office of Attorney-General in Barbados for a period. In 1806 she became the second wife of James Arundell, with whom she had three children: Mary, Henry and Robert. In 1808 James succeeded to the title of Baron of Wardour when the father of his first wife died without leaving a male heir. The painting was originally conceived of as a double portrait, with Mary standing to the left of her husband, who was seated. It is not known why the painting remained unfinished in Lawrence's studio, but the painting was retreived by James son James' wife, another Mary, Lady Arundell, on the artist's death, returning it to Wardour Castle as originally intended. It is likely that the Baron's portrait had more studio interference than that of his wife, which would explain why the two were separated in the early twentieth century; James' portrait was last seen at auction in 1916.