Portrait of Mrs FitzGerald
Portrait of Mrs FitzGerald
Portrait of Mrs FitzGeraldSigned with initials and dated lower left of original backboard: J D 1807 and inscribed lower right on original backboard: Mrs Fitzgerald from Ireland/Fancy dressPencil, brush and ink and watercolour and stump27 by 21 cm., 10 ¾ by 8 ¼ in. Provenance: Anonymous sale, Christie's South Kensington, London, 11 December 2007, lot 555;With Abbott and Holder, London, where bought by the father of the present ownerThe inscription `Mrs Fitzgerald from Ireland' suggests that this may be a portrait of Mary Frances Fitzgerald (1779-1855) who married her cousin the MP John Fitzgerald (1775-1852) in 1801. She was the daughter and heiress of John Fitzgerald of Little Island, Waterford and was renowned for her beauty. After her marriage she lived at Bredfield near Woodbridge, Suffolk. He became MP for Seaford in Sussex while his wife spent her time socialising in London and Brighton and they eventually separated. She was painted by Sir Thomas Lawrence in 1825 and also by Thomas Phillips. Their son was the poet Edward Fitzgerald (1809-1883) best known for his translation of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam.){kind=link}
John Downman, A.R.A. (1750-1824)
Portrait of Mrs FitzGerald
Signed with initials and dated lower left of original backboard: J D 1807 and inscribed lower right on original backboard: Mrs Fitzgerald from Ireland/Fancy dress
Pencil, brush and ink and watercolour and stump
27 by 21 cm., 10 ¾ by 8 ¼ in.
Provenance:
Anonymous sale, Christie's South Kensington, London, 11 December 2007, lot 555;
With Abbott and Holder, London, where bought by the father of the present owner
The inscription `Mrs Fitzgerald from Ireland' suggests that this may be a portrait of Mary Frances Fitzgerald (1779-1855) who married her cousin the MP John Fitzgerald (1775-1852) in 1801. She was the daughter and heiress of John Fitzgerald of Little Island, Waterford and was renowned for her beauty. After her marriage she lived at Bredfield near Woodbridge, Suffolk. He became MP for Seaford in Sussex while his wife spent her time socialising in London and Brighton and they eventually separated. She was painted by Sir Thomas Lawrence in 1825 and also by Thomas Phillips. Their son was the poet Edward Fitzgerald (1809-1883) best known for his translation of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam.