Formerly attributed to Thomas Gainsborough, this portrait by Irish portrait painter Hugh Douglas Hamilton (1740-1808) depicts John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford, with his grandson George Churchill, the future 5th Duke of Marlborough.
Hamilton majored in small-scale pastel portraits, but occasionally worked in oil and produced a number of full-length figure groups. The 7ft 7in x 4ft 1in (2.32 x 1.48m) work first sold at a Christie’s auction in 1868, passing through various hands until it was bought by the vendor in 1973 at Sotheby’s.
It has since hung in a large Cotswolds house and will form part of the contents due to be sold at local Cirencester saleroom Moore Allen & Innocent on March 8.
Estimate £60,000-90,000.
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