Richard Cosway R.A.

with powdered and curled hair, wearing a lace-trimmed black gown and a white fichu, cloud and sky background

Anonymous sale, Sotheby's London, 6 March 2003, lot 10

The colours are remarkably well preserved in this vibrant and telling portrait. On the verso, there is some tape around the extreme edges. This has discoloured with time. For further information on this lot, please contact Mark Griffith-Jones (0207 293 5083) or Emmeline Hallmark (0207 293 5407). mark.griffithjones@sothebys.com emmeline.hallmark@sothebys.com
"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."

The marriage of Lady Elizabeth Hervey and John-Thomas Foster was a union that originated from the political manoeuvres of her father, the Earl-Bishop of Bristol, rather than from any consideration of the two party's temperaments and that it was doomed to fail was probably inevitable. The 'too serious character' of John-Thomas Foster noted by his mother-in-law was totally at odds with whom the historian Edward Gibbon called 'a delightful little creature, but ever so slightly naughty'. Following the separation Lady Elizabeth left Ireland and returned to England. Whilst staying at Bath in 1782, she was introduced to William, 5^th Duke of Devonshire and his celebrated wife, born Georgiana Spencer. An intimate relationship between the three formed rapidly, with the Duchess writing to her disapproving mother 'we all go on deliciously here'. Later Charles Greville recorded the ménage as 'the strange connection of the Duke, the Duchess and Lady Elizabeth Foster...the latter at the same time the Mistress of the Duke and the bosom friend of the Duchess, and the wife passionately attached to the mistress and dreading nothing so much as the loss of her society'. Lady Elizabeth bore the Duke two children, Caroline St Jules and Augustus Clifford, both of whom were gradually integrated into the legitimate Devonshire family.

Three years after the death of Duchess Georgiana, in 1806, the Duke married Lady Elizabeth. Following the death of the Duke in 1811, Duchess Elizabeth spent increasingly long periods abroad, principally in Rome. Charles Greville wrote 'In old age, Popes and cardinals, Savants and Artists, attended her levees, rendered her an unceasing homage, and were obedient to all her wishes and commands'. The allure which Madame de Cazenove d'Arlens identified as 'a combination of English grace and French charm: the men in particular love her to distraction' – palpable in this portrait miniature by Richard Cosway – evidently never left her.