Maria Walpole as the Duchess of Gloucester and William Henry, Duke of Gloucester
Description:
Maria Walpole (1736-1807) was the daughter of Sir Edward Walpole (1706-1784) and his common-law wife Dorothy Clement (1715-1739). She married first, in 1759, James Waldegrave (1714-1763), Earl Waldegrave, and second, in 1766, Prince William Henry Hanover (1743-1805), Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh., Two ivories back to back in a hinged locket case; neither is signed by the artist., and For further provenance information, see the custodial history note in the Guide to the Sir Edward Walpole and Dorothy Clement Family Papers (LWL MSS 37).
Subject (Name):
Maria, Duchess of Gloucester, 1736-1807, and William Henry, Prince, Duke of Gloucester, 1743-1805,
Maria Walpole when the Duchess of Gloucester in a blue dress
Description:
Maria Walpole (1736-1807) was the daughter of Sir Edward Walpole (1706-1784) and his common-law wife Dorothy Clement (1715?-1739). She married first, in 1759, James Waldegrave (1714-1763), Earl Waldegrave, and second, in 1766, Prince William Henry Hanover (1743-1805), Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh., Artist attribution identified by Bodo Hofstetter of Christie's, 2004., Miniature set in a case with brightwork decoration on edge band that is hinged at top. A field of woven graying brown hair and one tied lock of white hair are inside the case between the minature and the silk backing embroidered with the initials ELW (for Elizabeth Laura Waldegrave, daughter of the sitter)., Though the embroidered initials would indicate that the portrait is of Elizabeth Laura Waldegrave (1760-1816), it is believed that her portrait was removed and replaced by one of her mother; the miniature there now is smaller than the case. The woven hair is mounted on paper inscribed "Lady Laura Waldegrave's hair / AC.", and For further provenance information, see the custodial history note in the Guide to the Sir Edward Walpole and Dorothy Clement Family Papers (LWL MSS 37).
Title from dealer's catalog., Inscribed on verso: Purchased for me by Mrs. Forster at Strawberry Hill; 10th May 1842. R. R. Preston. Liotard by himself. A legacy to Mr. Horace Walpole from Mrs. Delany 1788., Blackened pearwood frame., and Sitter in profile to the left, red cap.
Sir Edward Walpole (1706-1784) was the fourth child and second son born to Robert Walpole (1676-1745), chancellor of the Exchequer and first prime minister of Great Britain, and his wife Catherine Shorter (1782-1737). His younger brother was the author and antiquarian collector Horace Walpole (1717-1797). Edward Walpole graduated from Eton (1718) and King’s College, Cambridge (1725) before becoming master of pleas in the Office of the Exchequer in 1727 and clerk of the pells, a lifetime appointment, when his older brother Robert resigned from that position in 1739. Walpole also served in Parliament from 1730 until 1768 representing in succession Lostwithiel and Great Yarmouth and became a Knight of the Bath in 1753. With his common-law wife Dorothy Clement (1715?-1739) he was the father of one son and three daughters. Sir Edward Walpole died on January 12, 1784; he was buried at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor., Unknown artist., Miniature set in bracelet clasp decorated with brightwork, with a fixed flange on the left and a removable slide on the right., and For further provenance information, see the custodial history note in the Guide to the Sir Edward Walpole and Dorothy Clement Family Papers (LWL MSS 37).