GEORGE ROMNEY | Portrait of Margaret Porteous (née Hodgson), wife of the Bishop of London

Half length, wearing a white dress, pink fur-edged cloak and white head dress

Painted for the sitter's husband, Dr Beilby Porteous (1731-1808), Bishop of London, in 1781;
thence by descent in the family of the sitter, to Rev. Beilby Porteous Hodgson (1808-89), Hartburn, Northumberland;
thence by inheritance to his nephew, Oswald Augustus Smith (1826-1902);
thence by descent

London, Grafton Galleries, Romney, Autumn 1900, no. 73.

G. Paston, George Romney, London 1903, p. 197;
T.H. Ward and W. Roberts, Romney. A biographical and critical essay with a catalogue raisonné of his works, London and New York 1904, vol. II, p. 125;
‘Shottesbrooke Park, Berks., The Seat of Mr Guy. O. Smith’, in Country Life, vol. XXXIII, no. 839, 1 February 1913, p. 167;
Inventory of the Property of Guy O. Smith at 19 Hill Street, 1927, 'The Dining Room / G. Romney / Portrait of Mrs Porteus [sic], wife of B. Porteus, Bishop of London, 1787, wearing a red cloak trimmed with fur over a white dress and white head dress 29½ in. x 24½in.';
R. Walker, Regency Portraits, London 1985, vol. I, p. 403;
A. Kidson, George Romney. A complete catalogue of his paintings, New Haven and London 2015, vol. II, p. 486, cat. no. 1042, reproduced in colour

The canvas is lined, the paint surface is slightly dirty and the varnish is discoloured. There are a couple of pinprick losses in the background to the right of the sitter, and visible fine lines of retouching in her chest, neck and forehead. There are also some minor retouchings to small areas of bitumenisation in the background. Inspection under ultraviolet light confirms these, and reveals further fine lines of retouchings in her nose, jaw and ear, and in the top of her white blouse. The painting is in overall fair condition and will respond well to cleaning. Offered in a contemporary carved and giltwood frame
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Margaret, née Hodgson, married Dr Beilby Porteous, Bishop of London, in 1765. Please see the note on the preceding lot for further information.