George Romney

Portrait of Philip Yorke, 3rd Earl of Hardwicke (1757-1834)

Lot Closed

July 8, 02:36 PM GMT

Estimate

20,000 - 30,000 GBP

Lot Details

Description

Property from Wimpole Hall

George Romney

Dalton 1734 - 1802 Kendal

Portrait of Philip Yorke, 3rd Earl of Hardwicke (1757-1834)

oil on canvas

unframed: 91.5 x 70.9 cm.; 36 x 27⅞ in.

framed: 107.5 x 87.6 cm.; 42⅜ x 34½ in.

By descent to the present owner.

A. Kidson, George Romney, A Complete Catalogue of His Paintings, New Haven and London 2015, vol. II, p. 655, cat. no. 1472, reproduced.

The sitter was the eldest son of the Hon. Charles Yorke (1722-1770). In 1782 he married Lady Elizabeth Lindsay, daughter of James, 5th Earl of Balcarres, with whom he had six children. He was MP for Cambridgeshire between 1780-90. He was nephew of the 2nd Earl of Hardwicke whom he succeeded in the earldom in 1790. He took a keen interest in antiquarian subjects and was a Trustee of the British Museum. It was he who employed Sir John Soane to make the house at Wimpole into a coherent whole, and Humphry Repton to transform the park.

A second version exists at Wimpole (National Trust).¹

¹ https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/philip-yorke-17571834-3rd-earl-of-hardwicke-kg-mp-frs-fsa-171654