Thomas Gainsborough R.A.

John Frederick Sackville, 3rd Duke of Dorset, Knole, by 1793
By descent at Knole until 1930
Jacques Seligmann & Co., New York
André de Coppet, New York (acquired from the above in March, 1930 for £5,000)
Newhouse Galleries, New York
Mr. and Mrs. Kay Kimbell, Fort Worth, Texas
The Kimbell Art Foundation
Sale: Sotheby’s, London, July 12, 1989, lot 38 (sold by the above)
Acquired at the above sale by A. Alfred Taubman

Detroit Institute of Arts, 1989-1991 (on loan, no. T1989.338)

"A French Nobleman, Gainsborough," Ambulator, 1793, p. 304
S.J. Mackie, Knole House, Its State Rooms, Pictures and Antiquities, 1858, p. 88, cat. no. 209
Lionel S. Sackville-West, Knole House, Its State Rooms, Pictures and Antiquities,  Sevenoaks, 1906, p. 88
Charles J. Phillips, History of the Sackville family (earls and dukes of Dorset): together with a description of Knole, early owners of Knole and a catalogue raisonné of the pictures and drawings at Knole, London, n.d. (after 1927), vol. II, pp. 251, 436
Ellis K. Waterhouse, “A Preliminary check list of Portraits by Thomas Gainsborough,” Walpole Society, 1948-1950, vol. XXXIII, 1953, p. 18

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 portrait has not been recently restored. The canvas has an old lining, which still provides a good surface. Within the dark coat of the figure, there are visibly discolored small spots of retouching. These do not seem to address any abrasion. The ruff, face and hair, although very thinly painted, seem to be beautifully preserved. The background may have some slight weakness, which has received retouches. It is clear that the picture has not been evenly cleaned, and some of the old varnish remains in the thinner and darker areas of the background and hair. It is recommended that the work be cleaned. The discolored retouches should be removed, and one can reapply them more accurately where necessary. The work is in beautiful condition.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

The Chevalier de Champcenetz (1760-1794) was a noted author, pamphleteer and editor of political essays at the time of the French Revolution, as well as a celebrated duelist.  He was a controversial figure who, with his satirical writings and pithy epigrams, managed to offend both the monarchy and the revolutionaries.  He was imprisoned in the Château at Ham, Picardy from January 1785 until October 1786 as a result of an essay critical of the Prince d’Henin.  Along with Antoine de Rivarol (1753-1801), with whom he sometimes collaborated, he was one of the writers involved with Jean Gabriel Peltier’s Actes des Apôtres, a Royalist journal published from 1789 to 1791 that, through wit and satire, viciously attacked the institutions and individuals of the Revolution (J. L. Olsen, Royalist Political Thought During the French Revolution, Westport, 1995, p. 32).  In 1789 he wrote one of his best-known political essays against Madame de Stael and her entourage entitled Réponse aux lettres sur le caractère et les ouvrages de J.J. Rousseau and, with Rivarol, wrote Le Petit Almanach de nos Grandes Femmes (1789) and Petit Dictionnaire des Grands Hommes de la Révolution (1790).  Champcenetz was arrested in June 1793, but released on account of his earlier criticisms of the court.  However, he was arrested again in March of 1794, imprisoned at Carmes and guillotined on July 23, 1794.

This portrait remained in the collection at Knole where it was hanging in the Blue Room in 1793 and later in the Music Room until 1930.  Champcentez was a friend of John Frederick, 3rd Duke of Dorset (1745-99) who served as British Ambassador in Paris from 1783 until 1789.  He visited the Duke at Knole when he came to England in the early 1780s when this portrait was painted.

This painting will be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonné of the works of Thomas Gainsborough by Hugh Belsey.