Susannah Penelope Rosse

Probably Michael Rosse (d. circa 1735), the artist's husband,

probably his sale, London, Cecil Street, April-May 1723, unknown lot number,

possibly (according to family tradition) Christopher Tower of Huntsmoor Park, Buckinghamshire (1657-1728),

possibly Christopher Tower (1692-1771),

possibly Christopher Tower (1747-1810),

possibly the Rev. William Tower of Weald Hall, Essex (1789-1847),

Mrs William Henry Harford, née Ellen Tower (1832-1907),

Hugh Wyndham Luttrell Harford (1862-1920),

Arthur Hugh Harford (1905-1985),

by descent to the present owner

We are very grateful to Neil Jeffares for his help in clarifying the early provenance of this collection. Please see his article ‘William Towers (-1678) art dealer and collector’

Neil Jeffares | Fairness, candour & curiosity – from finance to art history (wordpress.com)

This drawing may be connected to a miniature in the collection of the Duke of Beaufort which is inscribed on the reverse: Miss Kirk niece of General Kirk.¹ This miniature entered the ducal collection in 1895 when Louise Harford, daughter of Mrs Harford, née Ellen Tower, married the 9^th Duke. Until this point it is more than probable that both the present drawing and the miniature were in the same collection. 

The sitter was the daughter of George Kirke, groom of the bedchamber to Charles II, and his wife Anne Killigrew. In January 1672 she married, as his third wife, Aubrey de Vere, 20^th Earl of Oxford (1627-1703). The couple had five children but no surviving male heir. Upon her husband's death in 1703, the earldom of Oxford, a title that was created in 1141 for the de Vere family, became extinct. Both husband and wife are buried at Westminster Abbey. 

1. D. Foskett, Samuel Cooper and his Contemporaries, London 1974, p. 103, no. 197

For further information on the work please refer to lot 8.