Studio of Johann Zoffany R.A.

three quarter length wearing a blue coat and holding a tricorn hat aloft, a view of Florence beyond

Sir Edmund Charles Nugent (1839-1928), 3rd Bt of Waddesdon, Berkshire;
His Sale, Puttick & Simpson London, 2 May 1929, lot 95

STRUCTURE The canvas has been lined. PAINT SURFACE The painting appears to be in good condition. ULTRAVIOLET Ultraviolet light reveals scattered minor infilling and re-touching. FRAME Held in a British Neoclassical style 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."

This sitter was the only son and second child of William, 2nd Earl Cowper (1709-1764) and his wife, Lady Henrietta Nassau d' Auverquerque (c. 1713-1747), the younger daughter of Henry, Earl of Grantham, and his wife, Henrietta Butler, the daughter of the Earl of Ossory.

Lord Fordwich, as he was styled, embarked on a Grand Tour in 1757 but was forced to return to England by his father in 1759 and became M.P. for Hertford. However, following his father's death he returned to Italy. He played a very active role in Florentine society and was renowned for his lavish hospitality given at the Villa Palmieri on the slopes of Fiesole.

Lord Fordwich also spent his vast fortune amassing a collection of pictures by Renaissance, seventeenth century and contemporary artists. He enjoyed favour at the Grand-Ducal court and Lady Spencer wrote to him on the 23rd June 1772, 'I have the Queen's commands to recommend Zoffani a painter and a very ingenious man to your Lordship's protection, Her Majesty sends him to Florence & wishes to have him admitted into the Great Dukes Gallery'.[1]

He acted on this recommendation himself and is portrayed here by Zoffany standing on a hillside above Florence, perhaps intended to represent the grounds of his villa at Fiesole.  In his right hand he raises a gold braided hat above his head, perhaps in jovial greeting to the artist Zoffany (and any subsequent viewer of the portrait). The cut of his waitscoat and the sword indicate that he may be wearing a uniform; if so it is likely to be court dress as worn at the Grand-Ducal court.

Lord Fordwich clearly established a close friendship with Zoffany who reportedly advised him on purchases for his collection. Indeed, he is portrayed pointing to the Niccolini-Cowper Madonna by Raphael which Zoffany holds in Zoffany's painting of The Tribuna of the Uffizi (Royal Collection). Fordwich also commissioned Zoffany to paint a larger version of this portrait (Private Collection), a portrait of his fianceé Anne Gore as a Savoyarde musician (Viscount Gage) and a large scale family portrait Lord Cowper and the Gore Family (Yale Center for British Art).

[1] As quoted in O. Millar, Zoffany and his Tribuna, 1966, p. 10.