Edward Haytley

Possibly Earl of Mornington;
Possibly his sale, 10 June 1822, lot 200;
Possibly The Earl of Dinsmore, 1879;
Possibly Dr. Edward Hamilton, London, 1891;
Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.;
His sale, New York, Parke-Bernet Galleries, 29-30 April 1960, lot 176 (as by William Hogarth) to Lock Gallery;
Charles Cushman, New York;
With Victor Spark, New York;
Mr. and Mrs. Horace Graham, Poughkeepsie, 1984;
Anonymous sale, Portland, Maine, Barridoff Galleries, 5 August 1998, lot 77.

Possibly The South Kensington Museum, 1879 (lent by the Earl of Dinsmore);
Possibly London, The New Gallery, 1890-91, no. 308 (lent by Dr. Edward Hamilton).

A. Dobson and Sir W. Armstrong, William Hogarth, London 1902, p. 179 (as by Hogarth);
A. Dobson, William Hogarth, London 1907, p. 212 (as by Hogarth);
A. Graves, A Century of Loan Exhibitions, 1813-1912, London 1913, p. 530, cat. no. 308;
L. Kirstein, Movement and Metaphor.  Four Centuries of Ballet, New York 1970, p. 264, no. 201, reprocduced, p. 109 (as attributed to Hogarth); 2nd ed., as Four Centuries of Ballet.  Fifty Masterworks, Mineola, New York 1984.

 

Relined and under a slightly dirty varnish. paint surface is generally well retained, especially in the figure. there is an overall craquelure pattern which is not distracting. under UV: small retouchings can be seen on face, mostly on the lower part. Some at hairline and some reinforcement of the top outline of right arm. a few other retouches can be seen in background and tree at right and in lower left corner. In a carved and gilt wood frame with some nicks and losses to the gilding.
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.

This charming portrait depicts Eva Maria Veigel, an Austrian dancer whose stage name was Mademoiselle Violette. Upon her arrival in England early in 1746, she was taken up by the Burlingtons, with whom she came to live in Burlington House. When the great English actor, David Garrick, entered her life and began to court her, the Burlingtons were fiercely opposed. Over their objections, she married Garrick shortly after this portrait was painted, on 22 June 1749, when the London Evening Post (of 20-22 June) described her as "a beautiful lady, with a Fortune of £10,000."  By all accounts, the marriage was extremely happy. Himself a great lover of the ballet, Garrick made radical reforms in theater practice that also influenced the dance. The sitter's identity, as indicated on the original frame, is further confirmed by comparison of her physiognomy with that of Mrs. Garrick seen in The Actor Garrick and his Wife of 1757 by William Hogarth in the Windsor Royal Collections, St. James's Palace.

A virtually identical version of the present painting was sold in New York, Sotheby's, 12 January 1979, lot 110 (as Spanish School, 18th Century). The existence of this second version, now untraced, renders the early provenance and exhibtion history of our painting uncertain.¹

1.  The provenance for this painting given in the 1979 auction catalogue is: Dr. Edward Hamilton, London (1891); Mrs. Fellows, Onslow Gardens, London; and Charles M. Johnson, Pennsylvania, from whose estate the picture was sold at Sotheby's.