George Romney

ful length, wearing a blue suit, with red trim and gold buttons, in a landscape

commissioned from the artist by the sitter's father William Tennant of Aston Hall, Staffordshire;
by descent to Mrs. Walter Burns, London;
by descent to her son Walter S.M. Burns, 50 Grosvenor Square, London, 1926;
with Lewis and Simmon, London, 1927;
with Thomas Agnews & Sons, Ltd., London;
with Ehrich Galleries, New York, July 1929;
Private Collection, Long Island, 1929;
McCann Sale, Parke-Bernet, New York, 21 February 1945;
The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts;
their sale, Christe's London, 8th June 2006, lot 33

 

London, Royal Academy, 1893, no. 39, as 'Blue Boy';
Newport News, Peninsula Fine Arts Centre; Lexington, Washington and Lee University, Portraits, 2nd May-29 June 1984;
Danville, Danville Museum of Fine Arts and History, British Painting, 7th June - 7th July 1985

H. Maxwell, George Romney, London, 1902, p171, no. 33;
Lord R. Sutherland Gower, George Romney, London, 1904, p.112, no. 33;
H. Ward and W. Roberts, Romney: A Biographical and Critical Essay, London, 1094, II, p. 155;
R.R. Tatlock, 'The Story of a Picture; Artist Challenge to Reynolds', Daily Telegraph, 15th July 1929;
Burlington Magazine, Vol V, August 1929, illus. p. 317;
The Literary Digest, August 1929;
The Club-Fellow, 28th August 1929, p. 18;
International Studio, September 1929. pp. 55 & 57:
E.A. Jewell, 'America welcomes Another Blue Boy', New York Times Magazine, 1st September 1929, p. 10;
Antiquarian, September 1929;
Pantheon Magazine, October 1929, p. 487, illus.;
Kunst und Kunstler, XXVIII, part I, October 1929, p. 40;
European Art in the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, 1966, no. 108, p. 66;
to be included in the forthcoming catalogue raissoné of George Romney by Alex Kidson

STRUCTURE The canvas has been lined. PAINT SURFACE The painting appears to be in good condition. ULTRAVIOLET Examination under ultraviolet light reveals retouching to the paint surface and infilling of craquelure, particularly to the lower right of the canvas, in the sitter's hair and below his legs. There has also been some strengthening to the paint in the background and to the sky in the upper left. FRAME Held in a painted and gilded carved wooden frame.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The sitter was the son of William Tennant Esq of Aston Hall in Staffordshire, Lieutenant Colonel in the Staffordshire Militia. He was educated at Eton from 1769 and matriculated at Christ Church College, Oxford on 22^nd October 1801 aged 18. In 1804 he graduated M.A. and in the same year married Maria Charlotte, daughter of 1^st Baron Yarborough.

William sat to Romney on numerous occasions in 1789; on 24^th April, on six instances in May and a further two in June, after which the painting was sent to the family home at Aston Hall on 17^th June 1790, payment in full of 50 guineas having been received by the artist from the sitter's father on 22 June 1789. Both William's parents had sat to Gainsborough in the 1780s (the portrait of his mother can be found in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York) and a there was clearly a vogue for artistic patronage in the family, yet when it came to immortalising their son in oils Romney, the greatest child portraitist of his generation, was the obvious choice.