Richard Gibson

Study of Betsy Rosse (?1685 - died after 1701)

No reserve

No Reserves

Auction Closed

July 5, 10:16 AM GMT

Estimate

1,500 - 2,000 GBP

Lot Details

Description

Property of the Harford family

Richard Gibson

Cumberland ? 1605 or 1615 - 1690 London

Study of Betsy Rosse (?1685 - died after 1701)

Black and red chalk on laid paper, watermarked with the arms of Amsterdam;

inscribed verso: Betsy Rosse

190 by 152 mm

Probably Mrs Richard Gibson, née Anne Shepherd (d. 1707), the artist's wife,

probably Susannah-Penelope Rosse (d. 1700), the artist's daughter,

probably Michael Rosse (d. circa 1735), her husband,

probably his sale, London, Cecil Street, April-May 1723, unknown lot number,

possibly (according to family tradition) Christopher Tower of Huntsmoor Park, Buckinghamshire (1657-1728),

possibly Christopher Tower (1692-1771),

possibly Christopher Tower (1747-1810),

possibly the Rev. William Tower of Weald Hall, Essex (1789-1847),

Mrs William Henry Harford, née Ellen Tower (1832-1907),

Hugh Wyndham Luttrell Harford (1862-1920),

Arthur Hugh Harford (1905-1985),

by descent to the present owner

We are very grateful to Neil Jeffares for his help in clarifying the early provenance of this collection. Please see his article ‘William Towers (-1678) art dealer and collector’

Neil Jeffares | Fairness, candour & curiosity – from finance to art history (wordpress.com)

D. Foskett, Samuel Cooper, London 1974, p. 85;
L. Stainton and C. White, Drawing in England from Hilliard to Hogarth, exh. cat. London, British Museum, 1987, pp. 102, under no. 64 and p. 115, under no. 80

The sitter is the grand-daughter of the artist and daughter of Michael and Susannah Penelope Rosse (see introduction and lot 21). Almost nothing is known of her life, only that she was alive in 1701, when her paternal grand-father, the jeweller Christopher Rosse (d. 1701) left her 'twenty lottery tickets in her maiden name' in his will.¹

1. J. Murdoch, 'Susannah-Penelope Rosse', Dictionary of National Biography, online edition

For further information on the work please refer to lot 8.