George Romney

half length, seated, wearing a grey dress with white chiffon shawl

Christopher Beckett Denison;
His sale, Christie's London, 6th June - 15th July 1885, lot 1025 as 'Lady Hamilton,' (bt. Thomas Capron);
His sale, Christie's London, 21st January 1888, lot 19 as 'Lady Hamilton,' (bt. Smith);
Camille Groult, Paris, by 1899

Paris, Bagatelle, L'Art Anglais, 1905, no. cat. no

H. Ward & W. Roberts, Romney, 1904, Vol. I, p. 11;
to be included in the forthcoming catalogue raissoné of George Romney by Alex Kidson

ENGRAVED:
for Armand Dayot's L'Image de la Femme, 1899;
L'Illustration, 18th January 1908

STRUCTURE The canvas has been lined. PAINT SURFACE The painting appears to be in good condition. There is an even cracquelure throughout. ULTRAVIOLET Ultraviolet light reveals scattered areas of infilling of old cracquelure and an area to the top of the canvas where there has been an old paint loss to the edge. FRAME Held in a late Carlo Maratta 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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The sitter was a portrait painter herself of whom little is now known; it is possible that she was related to the painter John Hodges Benwell, however this has not been confirmed. What we do know is that she lived in Warwick Court, London from where she worked in crayon and oils and also painted portrait miniatures. She exhibited at the Incorporated Society of Artists in 1761 and was elected an honorary member of the Society of Artists in 1769. By 1775 she was exhibiting regularly at the Royal Academy and continued to do so until 1791. In 1783 she married an army officer named Code, and thereafter she was entered at both the Royal Academy and Society of Artists as Mrs Code.

Ward and Roberts note the existence of a single sitting in Romney's 1788 diary 'Mrs Benwell' on 3 March. Although Mary had been married for a number of years and was exhibiting under her married name of Mrs Code, she may well have employed her maiden name in making an appointment with Romney because of the latter's familiarity with her, perhaps through the Society of Artists days which pre-dated her marriage. However, it has also been suggested that she had been recently widowed and that this portrait was painted when she returned to her maiden name and, perhaps, deliberately advertises her as lively and attractive.