Francis Cotes R.A.

three quarter length, seated in a landscape, wearing a white and gold dress with a pink gown, holding an early, six double course guitar

The sitter;
by descent to her son William, 2nd Duke of Gloucester (1776-1857);
bequeathed to his wife, Princess Mary, daughter of George III;
by descent to her nephew, George, 2nd Duke of Cambridge;
thence by descent until sold to the present owner

STRUCTURE The canvas has been lined. PAINT SURFACE The painting appears to be in very good condition. ULTRAVIOLET Examination under ultraviolet light reveals scattered minor retouching and infilling to craquelure overall. There is one very small further area of retouching to previous damage to the canvas, upper right. FRAME Held in a British Baroque gilded 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."

'I am not surprised at Lady Waldegrave's good fortune. Beauty has a large prerogative' (Lady Maria Wortley Montagu, 1759).

Described by her uncle, Horace Walpole, as 'beauty itself', Maria Walpole was one of the great icons of the mid 18^th century. The second and illegitimate daughter of Sir Edward Walpole (1706-1784) and his mistress Dorothy Clement, she was brought up with her brother and two sisters at the family home at Englefield Green in Surrey. Sir Edward led a retired life in the country and, on coming of age, the girls' introduction to society was left to their uncle, who took it upon himself to arrange their marriages.  

In London Maria emerged as the great rival of the infamous and later scandalised society belle Maria Gunning, Countess of Coventry. The two beguiled all, however, by striking up a great alliance, and were seldom seen about town without one another, each cementing the other's position as the epicentre of fashionable society. In June 1759 Horace Walpole reported that Lady Coventry 'has made a friendship with my charming niece, to disguise her jealousy of the new Countess's beauty', and describes them being mobbed in the Park by the admiring public. Writing of a dinner held at his house, at which both were present along with the Duchesses of Hamilton and Richmond and Lady Ailesbury, he stated; 'A thousand years hence, when I begin to grow old, if that can ever be, I shall tell of that event, and tell young people how much handsomer the women of my time were than they will be then'.

In May 1759 Maria married James Waldegrave, 2^nd Earl Waldegrave (1715-1763), at her father's house in Pall Mall. Twenty-one years her senior and a prominent member of George II's court, the marriage secured the twenty-three year old's status as one of London's leading society figures. The couple, who's marriage was a surprising success, had three daughters, Elizabeth Laura (1760-1816), Charlotte Maria (1761-1808) and Anna Horatia (1762-1801), all of whom were famously depicted by Sir Joshua Reynolds in his celebrated painting The Ladies Waldegrave of 1780, which hangs in the National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh. Tragically Waldegrave died of smallpox four years later in April 1763 at his house in Albermarle Street. At the time the Countess was convinced that she was pregnant with the Earl's son, however by August she was forced to concede that this was not the case and surrendered her husband's signet ring to her brother-in-law, recognising him as the 3^rd Earl Waldegrave.

'As she is so young she may find as great a match and a younger lover' prophesied her uncle to Sir Horace Mann. As foretold Maria, who had been swarmed upon by crowds of adoring Eton boy's at her first husband's funeral, soon caught the eye of the King's brother, Prince William Henry, 1^st Duke of Gloucester. In an act that astonished society the couple were married in a secret ceremony at Gloucester's house in Pall Mall on 6^th September 1766. Not only was the Prince eight years her junior, but, though Parliament pronounced in favour of the union, the relationship ruptured Gloucester's close relationship with the King, and Maria was never formally received at court as Duchess.