George Romney

Arthur Chichester, 1^st Marquess of Donegall, the husband of the sitter;
By descent to his younger son Lord Spencer Stanley Chichester (1775-1819), Dunbrody Park, Co. Wexford;
By descent to his son Arthur Chichester, 1st Baron Templemore, (1797-1837), Co. Donegal;
By descent to Arthur Claud Spencer Chichester, 4^th Baron Templemore, Dunbrody Park, Co. Wexford;
With Duveen Brothers, Inc., New York, by 1926;
From whom acquired with a bloc of pictures by Norton Simon, Pasadena;
By whom sold London, Sotheby's, 27 June, 1973, lot 15;
J. G. Hood, Esq.;
By whom offered London, Christie's, 19 November, 1976, lot 82, presumably unsold, and from whom acquired directly by the present collector.

Detroit, Detroit Institute of Arts, The second loan exhibition of old masters : British paintings of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries,  January 18-31, 1926, no. 35;
New York, Duveen Brothers, Inc, April 1933;
Nassau, Bahamas, 1938, cat. no. 16;
New York, Duveen Brothers, Inc., Forty British Portraits, April 9-30, 1940, no. 33;
New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1965-69;
Los Angeles, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1969

H. Ward & W. Roberts, Romney, London 1904, vol. II, p. 45;
"Exhibitions in Aid of 'Adopt-A-Family' Campaign," in Connoisseur, vol. XCI, June 1933, p. 416;
 

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com , an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This imposing portrait is in very good condition. In the sitter's neck and chest there are a few restorations which are fairly broad and which could be reexamined to great effect. Elsewhere there are a couple of small cosmetic spots in the lower dress yet for the most part there are very few restorations of any note. Abrasion to this paint layer does not appear to be an issues and the condition of this paint layer is remarkably good.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

When this Portrait of Barbara, Marchioness of Donegall was painted, Romney had became the unchallenged society portraitist in London.  Gainsborough had died in 1788, and Reynolds died in February of 1792, just as the present painted was being started.  It exemplifies the type of  elegant and yet informal image--even in his grandest full-length portraits-- in which Romney had specialized.    Romney had painted a number of such full length portraits of beautiful young ladies, set in dramatic park landscapes, over the 1780's, and into the early 1790's.  They are often shown leaning on plinths or balustrades, dressed simply in fashionable white gowns, which the artist renders with fluid beauty.  The attitude of the sitter in the present portait, in fact, is similar to a painting of a few years earlier, the Anne, Lady de la Pole (Boston, Museum of Fine Arts) of 1786, where the figure is posed with the same elegant nonchalence, one arm resting on a garden ledge, leaning against it with her ankles crossed.

Barbara was the daughter of the Rev. Dr. Luke Godfrey, and married in October 1790, as his third wife, Arthur Chichester, 1st Marquess of Donegall.  Sittings for her are recorded in Romney's day book in February, March and May of 1792.  The painting was completed by March 24, 1796, when it was sent to the Marquess' English seat at Fisherwick Hall, near Lichfield, Staffordshire.  Romney received payement of 120 guineas for the picture on 15 January, 1798.