THOMAS GAINSBOROUGH (BRITISH 1727-1788)PORTRAIT OF ANNE ELIZABETH, LADY MULGRAVE (1769-1788)Oil on canvas, framed as an oval71.5 x 59cm (28 x 23in.)Provenance:Reputedly commissioned by Constantine John Phipps, Lord Mulgrave (1744 - 1792) for the sitter's familyAt his death in 1792 the portrait was returned to his son, Henry, later Earl of MulgraveThence by descent to Revd Canon Constantine Charles Henry Phipps, 3rd Marquess of Normandy (1846-1932)His anonymous sale, Christie's, London, 13 July 1895 (lot 48), where bought by Cooper (￡3,675) (as T. Gainsborough)Reoffered Christie's, London, 8 May 1897 (lot 96), illustrated, where bought by Corteau (￡1,071) (as T. Gainsborough)Literature:Sir Walter Armstrong, Gainsborough & His Place in English Art, 1898, p.200Sir Walter Armstrong, Gainsborough & His Place in English Art 1904, p.274Alfred Ewen Fletcher, Thomas Gainsborough, 1904, p.220Ellis K. Waterhouse, 'Preliminary Check List of Portraits by Thomas Gainsborough.' Walpole Society 33, 1953, p.79 (Ia)Hugh Belsey, The Portraits, Fancy Pictures and Copies after Old Masters, 2019, Vol. II, (no. 672a) as unknown artistThe present lot was originally listed in The Portraits, Fancy Pictures and Copies after Old Masters (Belsey, 2019, no. 672a) as a copy after the original, however after inspecting the work in person in 2022, Belsey upgraded the attribution to a fully authenticated work by Gainsborough.Belsey notes that it was a relatively common practice for newly married women to commission portraits for both their husbands and their fathers. These would often be painted at the same time, by the same artist, and we know that this is certainly something which Gainsborough did (see the example of Lady Eden, Belsey, 2019, nos 304 and 305). In the case of Lady Mulgrave Belsey surmises that this was also the most likely scenario and would therefore date Lady Mulgrave's portrait to around the time of the sitter's marriage to Constantine John Phipps, Lord Mulgrave on 20 June 1787. Belsey notes that the thinly applied paint, handled with rapid and confident brushstrokes which in turn define the form of the artist's subject, reflect the qualities of Gainsborough's distinctive style during this period.Born 7 November 1769, Anne Elizabeth Cholmley was the youngest daughter of Nathaniel Cholmley and his second wife Henriette Catherine (daughter of Stephen Croft of Stillington). Tragically she died in childbirth aged nineteen.In addition to Lady Mulgrave, Gainsborough also painted her father Nathaniel Cholmley in 1785 (Belsey no. 180) and her husband, Constantine Phipps (Belsey nos. 667-71). Several copies of Lady Mulgrave exist, no doubt commissioned by the sitter's family after her untimely death. Lady Mulgrave also sat for Richard Cosway who painted a portrait miniature now in the Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore (57.120).
Oil on canvas, framed as an oval

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