- 167
* George Romney Dalton 1734 - 1802 Kendal
Description
- George Romney
- Portrait of Mrs. Pringle, Née Miss Balneavis
- half length wearing a white gown with a blue sash and bow at the neckline, a black shawl, and a pearl necklace and earrings
Rothschild inventory number on the reverse AR855 - oil on canvas
Provenance
Baron Nathaniel von Rothschild (1878-1942), prior to 1903, Theresianumgasse, Vienna, thence by descent to
Baron Alphonse von Rothschild, by 1905, thence by descent to
Seized from the above and allocated for the Kunstmuseum Linz, 1938/9;
Restituted to the Austrian government, Kremsmünster depot, 1945;
Restituted from the above to Baroness Clarice von Rothschild, 1948, thence by descent to;
Gwendolin de Rothschild, and thence by descent to the present owner.
Literature
N. Rothschild, Notizen Über einige Meiner Kunstgegenstände, Vienna 1903, p. 31, no. 54;
Sophie Lillie, Was einmal war: Handbuch der enteigneten Kunstsammlungen, Vienna, 2003, p 1031.
Catalogue Note
This exceptionally lovely portrait dates from the mid 1780s, a period when Romney was at the height of his powers as a portrait painter. Born in rural Lancashire and with no formal training in art, Romney had established a successful portrait painting business in London in the 1760s. In 1773, in a bold effort to improve his craft and further his art education, he interrupted his career to study in Italy. This was also undertaken, no doubt, in the knowledge that it would enhance his appeal to fashionable patrons upon his return. Back in London in 1775, he leased a house (formerly occupied by Francis Cotes) in the newly fashionable area near Cavendish Square and quickly re-established himself, becoming one of the most sought after portrait painters in London. The present portrait shows the distinctive manner in which Romney worked in this period, with a handling of paint that is wonderfully loose and spontaneous.
Mrs. Pringle was the daughter of Colonel Balneavis of Kirkland, N.B. In 1784, she married Lieut.-Colonel Robert Pringle, of the Engineers, second son of Mark Pringle of Crichton who had been a British Consul in Spain. In 1785 , Robert was appointed Engineer Commandant at Gibraltar, where Mrs. Pringle died on January 18, 1788.
Mrs. Pringle's portrait is recorded as having been paid for by her husband in September, 1785. A portrait of Colonel Pringle is also listed in the same year.
The present portrait hung in the Régence Salon of Baron Nathaniel von Rothschild's Theresianumgasse residence in Vienna (see Fig. 1 above).