65 - George Romney (British, 1734-1802) Portrait of Lady Laetitia à Court, half-length, in a white muslin dress with satin bows, 1786 oil on canvas Unframed: 76.5 x 63.8 cm. (30 1/8 x 25 1/8 in.) Framed: 100 x 87.5 cm. (39 3/8 x 34 1/2 in.) Commissioned by the husband of the sitter, Sir William Ashe à Court, 1st Baronet (c.1747-1817); Thence by descent to their son, Sir William Henry Ashe à Court, 2nd Baron Heytesbury (1809-1891); From whom acquired by Thomas Agnew and Sons, London, by October 1899; T.W. Wright; With Thomas Agnew and Sons, London; Thomas Henry Ismay (1837-1899) and Margaret (Bruce) Ismay (1837-1907); Lieutenant-Colonel Charles à Court Repington (1858-1925); With Thomas Agnew and Sons, London, by December 1908; Frederick David Sassoon (1853-1917); With Newhouse Gallery, New York; With Thomas Agnew and Sons, London, by November 1958; With Newhouse Gallery, New York, by March 1960; Private Collection, New Jersey; Sale; Christie’s, New York, 4 June 2014, lot 77; Where purchased by the present owner. Property from a Distinguished U.K. Private Collection Literature: H. Maxwell, George Romney, London 1902, p. 170, no. 1 G. Paston, George Romney, London 1903, p. 191 H. Ward and W. Roberts, Romney: A Biographical and Critical Essay with a Catalogue Raisonné of his Works, New York 1904, vol. II, p. 1 A. Kidson, George Romney: A Complete Catalogue of His Paintings, New Haven and London 2015, vol. I, p. 32, no. 4, reproduced in colour Exhibited: London, British Institution, 1863, no. 187 London, Agnews, 'The Fourteenth Annual Exhibition on Behalf of the Artists' General Benevolent Fund', 1908, no. 4 By the time George Romney completed this charming painting in 1786, he had become one of London’s most fashionable portrait artists alongside Thomas Gainsborough and Sir Joshua Reynolds. The present portrait depicts Lady Laetitia à Court (1746-1821), daughter of Henry Wyndham of The Close, Salisbury and his wife Arundell Ashe, née Penruddock. Lady Laetitia married Sir William Pierce Ashe à Court MP (1747-1816) in October of 1777, and the couple had seven children together. Their eldest son, William à Court, was elevated to the peerage as Baron Heytesbury in 1828. As a leading portraitist of his day, Romney kept close records of his sitters and their payments in his account book. These lists, which have survived, mention seven appointments between Romney and Lady Laetitia in the artist's studio in the spring of 1786. Also recorded is the sale price; Lady Laetitia's husband paid £21 for the portrait in early June, at which point it was dispatched to the couple's home. The portrait remained in the family until the late nineteenth century, when Sir William Henry Ashe à Court, 2nd Baron Heytesbury (1809-1891), sold the painting. A copy of Lady Laetitia's portrait was made for the à Court family around this time to replace Romney's original. Romney began his artistic training as a cabinet maker before apprenticing in Christopher Steele’s portrait studio in Lancashire. After achieving enough fame to establish his own practice in London, Romney quickly became Joshua Reynolds’ rival in the Georgian portraiture market. Reynolds openly professed his disdain for Romney, dismissively referring to him as “the man in Cavendish Square.” The rivalry is said to have emerged in 1763, when Romney’s second-place prize in a Royal Society of Arts competition was cut in half through a suspicious request orchestrated by Reynolds. Romney enjoyed a successful career among British high society, though he never submitted his work to the Royal Academy despite the elite patronage opportunities one could anticipate from exhibiting at Reynolds’ prestigious institution.