A portrait of Julia Annabelle, Lady Shuckburgh, by George Romney, estimated £20,000-30,000 at Chorley’s.
Once housed at the family seats of Pitchford Hall in Shropshire and Buxted Park in East Sussex, the consignment also includes Georgian furniture, porcelain, silver and enamel boxes. The works have remained in the family over many generations and this is the first time they have appeared on the open market.
The collection will go under the hammer in a special auction titled A Political Inheritance, Contents of a Cotswold Country House on April 23. Chorley’s said the sale comprises “a quintessential English collection of family portraits with impeccable provenance”.
It added: “This extraordinary collection gives a snapshot of the relationships and line of descent through a noble family, as well as several interconnected 18th and 19th century families and ancestors.”
A portrait of Robert Banks Jenkinson (1770-1828), 2nd Earl of Liverpool, attributed to the ‘circle of’ Sir Thomas Lawrence. It is estimated at £6000-10,000 at Chorley’s.
Charles Jenkinson was the younger half-brother of Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool, one of the UK’s longest serving Prime Ministers whose spell in office ran from 1812-27. After Robert died the year after he stood down from the government in April 1827 having suffered a cerebral hemorrhage, Charles succeeded his title, becoming the 3rd Earl of Liverpool.
A famous portrait of Robert painted by Sir Thomas Lawrence (1769-1830) in c.1820 now hangs in the Waterloo Room at Windsor Castle and a version of the portrait is offered in the Chorley’s sale. Attributed to the ‘circle of’ Sir Thomas Lawrence, it is estimated at £6000-10,000.
A portrait of Sir George Shuckburgh-Evelyn by George Romney, estimated £6000-8000 at Chorley’s.
A number of paintings passed into the collection after being inherited by Charles’ wife Julia Evelyn Medley Shuckburgh-Evelyn (1790-1814). These portraits from the Evelyn, Medley and Shuckburgh families include some of the collection’s highlights.
Among them are several portraits by George Romney (1734-1802), one of which depicts Sir George Augustus William Shuckburgh-Evelyn, 6th Bt (1751-1804), a noted astronomer after whom one of the craters of the moon is named. The portrait portrays him holding a thermometer and with an armillary sphere in view. It carries an estimate of £6000-8000.
A portrait of his wife Julia Annabelle, Lady Shuckburgh (1756-1797), also painted by Romney is potentially the most valuable picture of the group. It is offered with a £20,000-30,000 estimate.
A portrait of the 3rd Earl of Liverpool’s three daughters – Lady Catherine, Lady Selina and Lady Louisa by George Henry Harlow (1787-1819). It is estimated at £8000-12,000 at Chorley’s.
Gift from Queen Victoria
Royal gifts to the family will also feature in the sale including a portrait of the 3rd Earl himself given to his eldest daughter, Lady Catherine Julia Harcourt née Jenkinson (1811-1877), by Queen Victoria a year after his death.
The Earl had been friends with Victoria as a young princess and later served as Lord Steward of the royal household. The Queen had visited Pitchford Hall and Buxted Park on several occasions and the gift of the portrait would likely have been a comfort to the Earls’ daughter, who she also knew well. The portrait by a follower of Franz Xavier Winterhalter, carries an estimate of £600-£800.
A portrait of Charles Cecil Cope Jenkinson, the 3rd Earl of Liverpool, by a follower of Franz Xavier Winterhalter, estimated £600-800 at Chorley’s.
Director at Chorley’s Thomas Jennerfust said: “It is unusual to find such an extensive group of related portraits. These paintings have remained in the same family since they were commissioned and are therefore truly fresh to the market.”
