Sir Thomas Lawrence, P. R. A.
English, 1769-1830
Portrait of Mary-Anne Capel, Later Lady Carrington, 1827
Oil on canvas
36 x 28 inches (91.5 x 71 cm)
Provenance:
Lady Carrington, her estate
Asher Wertheimer, London
[Sale] Christie's, June 18, 1920, lot 28
Nathalie Hayes Hammond, New York, 1950
Herbert Roman, Inc., New York, 1978
[Sale] Christie's New York, January 10, 1980, lot 108
[Sale] Christie's New York, January 18, 1984, lot 67Private collection, New York
Literature:
D. E. Williams, Esq., The Life and Correspondence of Sir Thomas Lawrence, Kt.
, London, 1831, Vol. II, p. 458
Lord Arnold Sutherland Gower, Sir Thomas Lawrence,London, 1900, p. 115
Sir Walter Armstrong, Sir Thomas Lawrence, London, 1913, p. 120
Kenneth Garlick, Sir Thomas Lawrence, London, 1954, p. 30
Kenneth Garlick, SIr Thomas Lawrence, The Walpole Society, Glasgow, 1964, p. 51
Kenneth Garlick, Sir Thomas Lawrence, A complete catalogue of the oil paintings, New York, 1989, no. 172, p. 166, illus.
Exhibited:
The British Institution, 1830, no. 72
New York, Colnaghi, "English Portraits," November 13-December 20, 1984
Engraved:
Charles Rolls, 1832, as the frontispiece to the literary anthology Friendship's Offering
This work was begun in 1827 but not finished until late in 1829, one of the last portraits that Lawrence completed. Mary-Anne Capel was the daughter of John Capel, M. P. In 1830 she became the second wife of Sir Codrington Edmund Carrington (1769-1849), previously Chief Justice of Ceylon. Speaking of this portrait, the artist wrote in a letter of November 29, 1829: "I had a very amiable subject, I believe an accomplished one; and was likewise stimulated by esteem and respect for two of my warmest frieds [presumably Miss Capel's parents]. My servant could tell you with what fastidious care I have finished my pleasant task."