JOHN DOWNMAN, A.R.A. (RUABON, WALES 1750-1824 WREXHAM)

Dehany Hall was the daughter of Thomas Hall (1725-1772) and Mary Dehany (d. 1763), of Jamaica, while her nephew Charles was the son of Mary Hall (1747-1815 and Richard James Lawrence (1745-1830. Although born in Jamaica, Dehany appears to have spent much of her life in England. The family were wealthy patrons of the arts, and one of Dehany's niece's, Mary Hall, the daughter of William Hall and Mary, née Reid, baptized at St James, Jamaica, 3 May 1784, who sat for John Russell as the Petite fille aux cerises now in the Louvre. Richard's mother, Mary Lawrence (née Hall) sat for Thomas Lawrence as Una in 1771.
We are grateful to Neil Jeffares for his help in preparing this catalogue entry..