John Hoppner, R.A.

Maurice and Mabel FitzGerald, Renmark, South Australia;
Thence by descent to the present owner.

The painting is richer in colour and more muted in tone than the catalogue illustration would suggest. The canvas has been lined and the paint surface appears to be in good overall condition with no apparent areas of damage or loss of paint visible to the naked eye except for some minor frame abrasion visible around the canvas edges and two minor areas of pronounced cracking derived from an even craquelure overall. The first is situated in the sitter's left shoulder and runs vertically for approx. 4 in., the second is horizontal and is situated below in the sitter's armpit measuring approx. 2 in. Otherwise the upper stretcher bar make is visible and there is a discoloured varnish overall that is starting to blanch slightly in the background centre right as can be seen in the catalogue illustration. Please note that the white spots visible in the catalogue illustration lower left are no longer visible. Examination under ultraviolet confirms the presence of cosmetic retouching to the aforementioned cracks and reveal an older campaign of scattered retouching to the sitter's jacket. There is older retouching still to the sitter's right temple and there are very minor flecks visible in the sitter's hair, however apart from these the sitter's head appears to be untouched. A think milky varnish overall hinders further inspection. Offered in a gold painted wood and plaster frame with minor losses.
"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."

This previously unrecorded portrait depicts the politician Lord Henry FitzGerald, later Baron de Ros, younger brother of the revolutionary Lord Edward Fitzgerald, and son of James FitzGerald, 1^st Duke of Leinster (1722-1773) and his wife Emily, Duchess of Leinster (1731-1814). Lord Henry served as M.P. for Kildare Borough between 1776 and 1783 before representing Athy between 1790 and 1798. From 1790 to 1798 he sat in the Irish House of Commons for Dublin City and following his appointment to the Privy Council of Ireland he served in the Parliament for the United Kingdom for Kildare between 1807 and 1814. A keen amateur actor, Lord Henry won critical acclaim for his performance as Don Felix in the 1787 Richmond House Company production of ‘The Wonder’. Walpole was reported to have said of his performance, ‘He is a prodigy, a perfection – all passion, nature and ease. You never saw so genuine a lover. Garrick was a monkey to him in Don Felix…’ To celebrate this performance, Hoppner painted a portrait of him in the guise of this character (now in the De Ros Collection). A terminus ante quem for this picture is provided by the fact that it was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1789 (no. 159 as ‘Portrait of a Nobleman’). Although multiple likenesses are uncommon in the artist’s oeuvre, they are not unknown and given that the present picture is stylistically datable to Hoppner’s work of the mid-1780s we can speculate that it preceded the Don Felix portrait, and is perhaps a more formal counterpart to Hoppner’s Portrait of Lord Henry’s wife, Charlotte (1769-1831).

We are grateful to Dr. John Wilson of the Timken Museum of Art for endorsing the attribution to Hoppner on the basis of photographs.