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George Romney

Lady Arabella Ward, 1783-1788

Not on View

Medium

oil on canvas

Dimensions

overall: 76 x 63.5 cm (29 15/16 x 25 in.)

Credit Line

Widener Collection

Accession Number

1942.9.78

Artists / Makers

George Romney (artist) British, 1734 - 1802

Image Use

This image is in the public domain.
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Provenance

Painted for the sitter's husband, the Hon. Edward Ward [1753-1812], son of Bernard, 1st Viscount Bangor; by descent to Maxwell, 6th Viscount Bangor [1868-1950], Castle Ward, County Down. (M. Knoedler & Co., New York); purchased 1921 by Joseph E. Widener, Lynnewood Hall, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania; inheritance from Estate of Peter A.B. Widener by gift through power of appointment of Joseph E. Widener, Elkins Park, after purchase by funds of the Estate; gift 1942 to NGA.

[1] The additional Viscounts Bangor listed in the former owner table in NGA's collection database are per The Getty Provenance Index.

Associated Names

Knoedler & Company, M.
Ward, 3rd Viscount Bangor, Edward Southwell
Ward, 4th Viscount Bangor, Edward
Ward, 5th Viscount Bangor, Henry William Crosbie
Ward, 6th Viscount Bangor, Maxwell Richard Crosbie
Ward, Edward, The Hon.
Widener, Joseph E.

Exhibition History

1902: Old Masters of the Early English and French Schools, Royal Hibernian Academy of Arts, Dublin, 1902-1903, no. 18.

1903: Eighth Annual Exhibiton on Behalf of the Artists' General Benevolent Institution, Thos. Agnew & Sons, Ltd., 1903, no. 3.

Technical Summary

The medium-heavy weight canvas is twill woven; it has been lined. The ground is lead white over a layer of glue. There is a gray imprimatura. The painting is executed in fluid, thick, opaque layers, blended wet into wet. X-radiographs show substantial changes in the composition. The painting is in good condition. The full-bodied paint has resisted abrasion, but the impasto has been slightly flattened during lining. Retouching is minor, chiefly at the edges of the painting. The thick natural resin varnish has not discolored.

Bibliography

1904: Ward, Humphry and William Roberts. Romney. 2 vols. London, 1904: 1:101-102, 113, repro. opp. 8; 2:165-166.

1923: Paintings in the Collection of Joseph Widener at Lynnewood Hall. Intro. by Wilhelm R. Valentiner. Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, 1923: unpaginated, repro.

1931: Paintings in the Collection of Joseph Widener at Lynnewood Hall. Intro. by Wilhelm R. Valentiner. Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, 1931: 22, repro.

1942: Works of Art from the Widener Collection. Foreword by David Finley and John Walker. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1942: 6.

1948: Paintings and Sculpture from the Widener Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1948 (reprinted 1959): 87, repro.

1963: Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. New York, 1963 (reprinted 1964 in French, German, and Spanish): 320, repro.

1965: Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 116.

1966: Henderson [later Jaffé], Patricia. George Romney. Maestri del Colore series, no. 250). Milan, 1966: color cover.

1968: National Gallery of Art. European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. Washington, 1968: 103, repro.

1975: European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 308, repro.

1975: Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. New York, 1975: no. 516, color repro.

1984: Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 365, no. 509, color repro.

1985: European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 355, repro.

1992: Hayes, John. British Paintings of the Sixteenth through Nineteenth Centuries. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 1992: 240-243, repro. 241.