THOMAS ROWLANDSON | A gaming table at Devonshire House, London: Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, Harriet, Lady Duncannon, the Prince of Wales and others gambling

Joseph Widener;
Anonymous sale, London, Sotheby's, 11 November 1993, lot 52;
There acquired by the present collector.

This watercolor appears to be the earliest known version of one of Rowlandson's best known subjects. It depicts a game of faro at Devonshire House, Piccadilly, the home of Georgiana Cavendish (1757-1806), who was well known for her love of gambling. The Duchess and her sister Lady Bessborough are drawn wearing hats, one throwing dice, the other taking money from her purse. To the left, a young lady has run out of money, and is being offered a loan by a young officer, while to the right two gentlemen keenly await the fall of the dice.This watercolor appears to be the primary version of the subject as it dates from four years earlier than the other two drawings of the Duchess of Devonshire. One of these is dated 1791 and was sold at Sotheby's London in 1990.¹ A further version, similarly dated, is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum, New York.² The arrangement of the money on the table and of the tassels behind the head of the young officer varies in each of the versions.

^1. Sale, London, Sotheby's, 15 March 1990, lot 50
^2. See J. Hayes, Rowlandson Watercolours and Drawings, London 1972, p.151, no.87