Johann Zoffany R.A. 1733-1810

all full length, he seated wearing a blue coat and gold-edged red waistcoat, his two sons wearing brown coats and breeches, one flying a kite, a sculpture of the infant Hercules and the Serpent on a plinth to the left, a landscape beyond

By family descent to Lionel Maitland Kirwan, Bengairn, Castle Douglas, Kircudbright, his sale Christie's London, 25 June 1900, lot 84 (bt. Colnaghi, £105);
Bt. by Mr Friedlander;
Bequeathed to Agnes Wellesley, daughter of Arthur Wellesley, 1^st Viscount Peel, who married Major Charles Goldman;
Mrs E.E. Fry, her sale, Sotheby's London, 5 December, 1928, lot 59;
Sir Sidney Herbert Bt;
Anonymous Sale, Sotheby's London, 11 July 1990, lot 45 (£820,000)

Lady Victoria Manners and Dr G.C. Williamson, John Zoffany RA, 1920, pp. 15 & 154;
Dr G.C. Williamson, English Conversation Pieces, 1931, p. 16, pl. XLIV (from the collection of Sydney and Michael Herbert);
S. Sitwell, Conversation Pieces, 1936, p. 96, pl. 42 (lent by Sir Sidney Herbert Bt);
M. Praz, Conversation Pieces, 1971, pp. 134, 251, pl. 284

STRUCTURE The canvas has been lined. PAINT SURFACE The painting is in very good, clean condition. There is a very light and even cracquelure consistent with age. ULTRAVIOLET Ultraviolet light reveals very light and scattered re-touching. There is a line of re-touching about three inches long in the upper right hand corner. Under UV the painting appears to be in very good condition. FRAME Held in an ornate carved wood gilt and plaster period frame.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Zoffany painted this beautiful and intimate portrait of the male lines of the Fitzgerald family in 1764. He completed a version for each son (the other is now in a Private Collection).[i]

In only four years since his arrival in England from his native Germany, Zoffany had built up an enviable reputation as the finest painter in England of the conversation piece and had executed commissions for some of the greatest families in the country. His first works in that genre were for David Garrick for whom Zoffany painted two versions of Mr and Mrs Garrick by the Shakespeare Temple at Hampton.[ii] 

In 1763 he painted several major works for Lord Bute of members of his family. It was probably Bute who introduced him to the Royal Family and in 1764, in the same year as the Fitzgerald portrait, he painted his famous conversation piece of Queen Charlotte with her two eldest sons as well as a portrait of George Prince of Wales and his brother Frederick (both pictures are in the Royal Collection). The conversation pieces of the 1760's show the artist at the height of his powers.

The Fitzgerald family came from Turlough in County Mayo (Fig. 1). George Fitzgerald was the second son and heir of Thomas Fitzgerald. Early in life he served as a captain in the Austrian army, to which the profile of a Roman soldier on the pedestal may refer. In 1745 he married Lady Mary Hervey, who was the daughter of John, Lord Hervey and his wife the beautiful Molly Lepell. Lord Hervey was Vice-Chamberlain and later Lord Privy Seal. His eldest son succeeded as the second Earl of Bristol. Zoffany's portrait of Lady Mary still hangs at Ickworth, as do those of her three sisters. Mr George and Lady Mary Fitzgerald also appear in a group portrait by Hayman and other artists at Ickworth.

Charles Lionel, the younger brother is here affectionately held by his father. They appear amusingly entertained by the antics of the elder brother George. This painting was made for Charles who in 1777 married Dorothea, eldest daughter of Sir Thomas Butler, 6^th Bt., and later inherited the estate at Turlough where this painting hung. His wife bore him three sons and a daughter, Dorothea Mary, who married Patrick Kirwan of Dalgin Park, County Mayo. This painting descended from their son Charles Lionel Kirwan who married Matilda Maitland.

Charles Fitzgerald's brother George Robert, later known as 'Fighting Fitzgerald' is shown here, flying a kite. Famous for his brave and reckless horsemanship, at the age of eighteen he hunted with the court of Louis XV as a guest of the Comte d'Artois, and both amused and shocked the courtiers by galloping ahead of the formal hunt arrangement, including Marie Antoinette. In 1770 he married Jane, daughter of the late Rt. Hon. William Connolly of Castletown, Country Kildare. Following her death, he married the heiress of Mr Vaughan of Carrowmore, County Mayo. He was involved in a number of disputes and was found guilty of murder and hanged in 1786.

[i] See Anonymous Sale, Sotheby's London, 9 June 1998, lot 13 (£880,000)


[ii] The first was painted for Garrick (see, M. Praz, Conversation Pieces, 1971, p. 121, pl. 276) and the second was possibly commissioned by or for Horace Walpole (see M. Webster, Johan Zoffany, 1976, p. 26, no. 11 illus.) both are now in Private Collections.