Scot r a Fovvles 
 680 Fifth Ave. 
 New York, N. 
 
 AN EXHIBITION OF SIXTY DRAWINGS 
 BY SIR THOMAS LAWRENCE, P.R.A. 
 
AN 
 
 Exhibition of Sixty Drawings 
 
 BY 
 
 Sir Thomas Lawrence, P.R.A. 
 
 Opened by H. S. H. Prince Alexander of Teck 
 On APRIL 23rd, 1913 
 
 At the Edward Gallery, 26, King Street, St. James's 
 
 LONDON 
 
 CATALOGUE 
 
 With Descriptive Notes by Algernon Graves, F.S.A. 
 and Foreword by C. Reginald Grundy 
 
 ANNE LAWRENCE 
 DRAWN BY LAWRENCE AT THE ACE OF TWELVE 
 
 LONDON 
 I9I3 
 
FOREWORD. 
 
 Of the many who admire Sir Thomas Lawrence, as one 
 of the most individual and fascinating of English portrait 
 painters, few realise that he was greater with the pencil 
 than with the brush ; and that the grace and elegance 
 which characterise his art are more superbly expressed 
 in the delicate tints of water-colour than in the heavier, 
 more solid, and more opaque oil pigments. Yet critics, 
 familiar with the artist's work in both mediums, have 
 long ago recognised the fact. Sir Joshua Reynolds hinted 
 at it when he said that Lawrence commenced where he 
 himself ended ; meaning that the younger artist was 
 already the better draughtsman of the two. A better 
 painter he never became ; for as the charming Anglo- 
 American artist and astute critic, Charles R. Leslie, R.A., 
 truly says : " Sir Thomas Lawrence was hindered from 
 rising to the highest rank as a colourist by his early and 
 first practice of making portraits in colourless chalk only." 
 Cosmo Monkhouse sums up the matter in the " Dictionary 
 of National Biography," where he states : " His 
 (Lawrence's) most perfect works are his drawings in 
 crayon and pencil, which he continued to execute through- 
 out his life." 
 
 Later critics have not been so emphatic in their 
 opinion, lacking the opportunity to compare the drawings 
 by Lawrence with his oil paintings ; for while superb 
 examples of the latter are included in the leading public 
 and private collections of England, the artist's drawings 
 are rarely to be seen. A few are contained in the folios 
 at the British and Victoria and Albert Museums, but for 
 the most part they are held by the descendants of their 
 original owners, and their existence is only known to a 
 few. It is this which gives this collection its unique 
 interest. For the first time there has been gathered 
 together a representative selection of the art in which 
 Lawrence was peculiarly master — undoubtedly the greatest 
 master of his time, and in his elevation of the whims 
 and vagaries of fashionable attire to the region of high 
 art, the greatest master of all time. Here one can see 
 examples of his different periods ; from the time when, 
 as a boy wonder, he took the portraits of his father's 
 customers at the " Black Bear " Inn, at Devizes — on 
 the high-road from London to Bath, the thoroughfare 
 most travelled by rank and fashion in Great Britain 
 — to the days when, acknowledged as the leading 
 painter in Europe, the Emperors and Kings assem- 
 bled for the Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle flocked to his 
 studio. 
 
 The drawings, a large proportion of which come 
 direct from the family of Lawrence, are of poignant 
 interest, not only as a- perfect illustration of Lawrence's 
 art — its range, variety and development — but also for 
 their intimate associations with the painter's history and 
 the glimpses they give us of some of the most famous 
 
 beauties and celebrities of his time — the period which 
 began amidst the strain and stress of the great Napoleonic 
 conflict, and ended with the frivolous elegancies of the 
 Regency. 
 
 Where there are so many works of fine quality, it 
 seems invidious to single out any for special mention, 
 yet one may be forgiven in calling attention to the fluent 
 ease of line and the exquisite delicacy of colouring of 
 the Mrs. Wolff ; or the more elaborate but equally effective 
 handling of that trio of beauties, " The Daughters of 
 Lord Maryborough," and the breadth and freedom of some 
 of the slighter sketches — the one of Lady Charlotte 
 Campbell, for instance. Of exceptional interest, too, 
 are some of the earlier drawings, such as Lawrence's 
 portrait of himself, when a graceful, long-curled boy, 
 just previous to the commencement of his London career ; 
 or the highly finished drawing of his sLster Anne, a wonder- 
 ful production of a boy of twelve. Several of the examples 
 are his first ideas for famous pictures. Of such is the 
 charming finished sketch of the Calmady children. 
 Lawrence esteemed his oil portrait of them his master- 
 piece ; yet the first sketch, with the children presented 
 in full-face, is even a more beautiful conception than the 
 one which eventually he placed upon canvas. 
 
 As an oil painter Lawrence ranks with Reynolds 
 and Romney, with Gainsborough and Raeburn in a few 
 only of his finer works. The majority of his pictures 
 betray the handling of a man who, though he is master 
 of the medium, does not find in it his natural mode of 
 expression. He uses it like a foreigner speaking in a 
 language with which he is fully conversant, expressing 
 himself with ease and fluency, but having to translate 
 his thoughts from his mother-tongue before he enunciates 
 them. Lawrence thought in pencil what he expressed in 
 oil. Unlike his great contemporaries and predecessors, 
 he found it necessary to make elaborate drawings from 
 his sitters before setting down their likeness in colour. 
 Thus it is almost only in his drawings that he attained 
 that perfect ease and spontaneity of expression which 
 is the hall-mark of a great master. 
 
 An Englishman may be allowed to express a feeling 
 of regret that there exists a strong probability that these 
 fine examples of Lawrence's finest art will be transferred 
 to the western side of the Atlantic, but there is con- 
 solation in the thought that, as in the past, the enterprise 
 and artistic discrimination of American collectors has 
 revealed to Englishmen the true value of many of their 
 art treasures, so the exodus of this fine collection to the 
 west of the Atlantic may cause English owners of the 
 Lawrence drawings, still remaining in the country, to 
 keep and conserve them, as being among the most 
 precious examples of British art. 
 
 C. Reginald Grundy. 
 
 4 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2015 
 
 
 
 https://archive.org/details/exhibitionofsixtOOgrav 
 
6 
 
^TTp^WINGS OF 
 
 SIK THOM AS LAVW ^NC] 
 
 1. A Study for the Picture "Homer 
 
 Reciting his Poems to the Greeks." 
 
 Like Reynolds and Romney, Lawrence always 
 possessed the ambition to become a historical 
 painter, and from his earliest days made various 
 attempts at religious and historical subjects ; they 
 only ceased when the demands on his brush for 
 portraits left him no time for other themes. The 
 picture of Homer was commissioned from the 
 artist by Mr. Richard Payne Knight. Lawrence 
 painted it at his lodgings in JerniA'n Street in 1788, 
 a little over a year after his first arrival in London. 
 He exhibited it at the Royal Academy of 1791, 
 where it appears to have been well received, but 
 the wonderful success of the artist's portrait of 
 '' Miss Farren, afterwards Countess of Derby," 
 shown in the preceding year, had already marked 
 out the lines of his future career. 
 
 2. " Sir Thomas Lawrence when a Boy." 
 
 This interesting portrait is the original .sketch 
 for the more elaborate work engraved by T. A. 
 Dean, for D. E. Williams's well-known "Life" of 
 the artist, published in 1831. The drawing corres- 
 ponds closely with the description of Lawrence in 
 1775-6. written by Sarah Thackeray : — " He was 
 remarkably handsome as a boy ; he wore his 
 collar thrown back, and his liair, which was 
 beautiful, was so redundant that its rich dark curls 
 almost obscured his face when he stooped to 
 draw." From the pen of the same lady we have 
 a record of Lawrence's intimacy with Dr. Falconer, 
 to whom the drawing was given with sixteen 
 others by the artist in 1786, previous to his 
 leaving Bath for London. Miss Thackeray 
 writes : — " My intimate acquaintance with Sir 
 Thomas was confined to the last months of 1785, 
 and the first six months of the ensuing year ; 
 these I spent in the house of Dr. Falconer, his 
 friend and patron. lie passed several evenings 
 every week with us ; and I scarcely recollect 
 anything with more pleasure than the little social 
 
 circle that surrounded that joyous tea-table ; he 
 was one of its pleasantest members ; and his 
 appearance, which depended upon his inclination 
 or convenience, was ever hailed with delight. A 
 kindred taste for the art drew him and Sir Sidne\- 
 Smith together, and he sometimes, though more 
 rarely, made one of the party. I have seen the 
 future President (of the Royal Academy) and the 
 future hero of Acre drawing at the same table : 
 the one tracing a human countenance, the other 
 a ship." 
 
 M 
 
 iss 
 
 inne Lawrence. 
 
 The drawing is the earliest dated piece in lliis 
 Collection, and is a fine example of the talent 
 which made the young artist one of the most 
 sought after portrait painters of the period. Its 
 date corresponds with the time that Madame 
 D'Arblay visited Devizes in 1780, and noted down 
 in her journal Anne and her eklest sister as being 
 " pretty girls." She was about three years older 
 than Lawrence, and remained on most affectionate 
 terms with him all her life. She and her sister, 
 Lucy, who afterwards married Mr. Jolm Meredith, 
 helped to support their parents by teaching. Anne 
 married the Rev. Richard Rouse Bloxhani, D.D., 
 Rector of Brinklows, Vicar of Bulkingdon, and 
 second master of Rugby, having three daughters 
 and six sons. It is a somewhat affecting circum- 
 stance that, just previous to the artist's death, 
 Mrs. Bloxham was very seriously ill, and Law- 
 rence wrote promising to visit her on the earliest 
 opportunity. This never came, for Lawrence 
 himself was stricken down a few days after 
 writing the letter. 
 
 4. " Lady Inchiquin, afterwards Mar- 
 chioness of Thomond." 
 
 A sketch for the well-known picture exhibited 
 by Lawrence at the Royal Academy in 1795, and 
 engraved by William Bond and Leslie Haynes. 
 The lady is perhaps almost better known under 
 
 * 
 
An Exhibition of Sixty Dratvings by Sir Thomas Laivrence, P.R.A. 
 
 her maiden name of Mary Palmer. She was the 
 daughter of John Palmer, of Torrington, Devon- 
 shire, and favourite niece of Sir Joshua Reynolds, 
 who left her the bulk of his fortune, something 
 like ;^ioo,ooo — a stupendous sum in the days not 
 far removed from the time when Goldsmith spoke 
 of a clergyman as passing rich on ^^40 a year. 
 She married in 1792, becoming the second wife of 
 Murrough O'Brien, fifth Earl of Inchiquin, who 
 was created Marquis of Thomond in 1800. 
 
 "Fancy Head." 
 
 This delicate and lightly touched in drawing is a 
 study for one of the many classical subjects for 
 which Lawrence made sketches, without finding 
 time to elaborate them into important works. 
 
 "Lady Betty Foster." 
 
 The sketch of Lady Betty Foster, well known 
 as the companion, friend and successor of Georgina 
 Duchess of Devonshire, was probably made by 
 Lawrence to complete Gainsborough's famous 
 portrait of her, now in Mr. Pierpont Morgan's 
 Collection, which was left unfinished at the 
 latter artist's death. The date of the work is 
 about 1788. 
 
 " Lady Charlotte Susan Maria Bury, 
 me Campbell." 
 
 A slight but very beautiful profile study for the 
 drawing No. 9 in this Collection. The contour of 
 the face is set down with the delicacy of a cameo, 
 and the eyes rendered with that wonderful 
 expressiveness which made Fuseli grudgingly 
 admit that, in painting eyes, Lawrence excelled 
 Titian. 
 
 "Elizabeth Farren, afterwards Countess 
 of Derby." 
 
 The portrait of this well-known actress, which 
 Lawrence painted in 1790, and exhibited the same 
 year at the Royal Academy, placed him at the 
 head of his profession. The sketch belongs to the 
 same period, showing the free and fluent style 
 which Lawrence generally abandoned in later 
 years for more careful and elaborated work. Miss 
 Farren was born about 1759, and was one of the 
 most popular actresses of her day. She retained 
 her charms until a late period, retiring from her 
 profession in 1797, on her marriage with Edward 
 Stanley, twelfth Earl of Derby. Hazlitt warmly 
 commended her for her fine-lady airs and graces. 
 
 " Lady Charlotte Susan Maria Bury, 
 nee Campbell." 
 
 • The youngest daughter of John, fifth Duke of 
 Argyll, and the famous beauty, Elizabeth Gunning, 
 
 Lady Charlotte inherited her mother's good looks 
 but hardly her mother's good fortune. She was 
 born in 1775, married her namesake, Colonel John 
 Campbell, in 1796, and on his death in 1808, was 
 appointed Lady-in- Waiting to Caroline, Princess 
 of Wales. In 1818 she married the Rev. Edward 
 John Bury, but in 1832 was again widowed. Her 
 chief title to fame is in her " Diary illustrative of 
 the Times of George IV.," which she brought out 
 anonymously in 1838, writing numerous novels 
 between that date and her death in 1861. Law- 
 rence's drawing of her shows that she retained 
 her beauty after her first widowhood, while his 
 flattering pencil has toned down the signs of age 
 which must have appeared in the countenance of 
 a woman well over forty. 
 
 10. "Miss Anne Lawrence." 
 
 This clever sketch of Anne Lawrence, sister of 
 the artist, represents her at a somewhat later date 
 than the one already described, and corresponds 
 to the date when the young lady had been sent to 
 an expensive finishing school at Bath. 
 
 11. "Thomas Lawrence." 
 
 The portrait of Thomas Lawrence, the father of 
 . the artist, was probably drawn about 1797, and is 
 well known from the engraving by Charles Lewis. 
 He was born in 1725 at Newbury, articled to a 
 solicitor, but he gave up the study of law before 
 he had completed his articles. He made a 
 clandestine match with Lucy Read in 1750, who 
 was subsequently disowned by her parents. He 
 settled in Bristol, where he was given a post in 
 the Excise, which he resigned in order to take 
 the " White Lion," where, in 1769, Lawrence was 
 born, the youngest of sixteen children, only five of 
 whom apparently survived. He left Bristol in 
 1772, his affairs having become involved, and went 
 to the " Black Bear," Devizes. In 1779 he took 
 his family to Oxford, afterwards going to Wey- 
 mouth, and finally settling some time at 2, Alfred 
 Street, Bath. He and young Lawrence went 
 to London in 1787, where they were joined by 
 Mrs. Lawrence. He died in 1796, the same year 
 as his wife. They were practically supported 
 by Lawrence, with, at first, the aid of his brothers 
 and sisters, from the time he was about twelve. 
 
 12. "Mary Isabelle Bloxham." 
 
 This lady was the daughter of Lawrence's sister 
 Anne, and favourite niece of the artist. She was 
 the subject of several portraits by him, one of the 
 best known being the half-length, painted after 
 she married Mr. Hemming, which is engraved 
 by Greenhead. The present drawing, which repre- 
 sents her at an earlier date, was engraved by 
 C. Lewis in 1830 for " The Cabinet of Gems." 
 
An Exhibition of Sixty Draivings by Sir Thomas Lawrence, P.R.A. 
 
An Exhibition of Sixty Drawings by Sir Thomas Latvrence, P.R.A. 
 
 ABEL R. DOTTIN, ESQ., M.P. COUNTESS GOWER 
 
An Exhibition of Sixty Drawings by Sir Thomas Lazvrence, P.R.A. 
 
 13. "Children of Charles B. Calmady, of 
 Langdon Court, Devon." 
 
 This was a sketch for the well-known picture 
 of " Nature," exhibited at the Royal Academy of 
 1824, under the title of " Portraits of the Children 
 of Charles B. Calmady, Esq." The picture has 
 been engraved by Doo, Cousins, and many modern 
 engravers, and the sketch by F. C. Lewis, in 1825. 
 It was owing to this engraver's suggestion that 
 the picture was executed, the story related in 
 Williams's " Life of Lawrence " being as follows: — 
 Mr. Lewis, the engraver, had often suggested to 
 Mrs. Calmady that her two children, Emily and 
 Laura, would make excellent subjects for a paint- 
 ing ; and he assured her that if Sir Thomas 
 Lawrence were but to see the children, he would 
 be glad to paint them on any terms. But delicacy 
 and independence of spirit made the question of 
 terms one of great delicacy with the parents. . . . 
 In July, 1823, Sir Thomas saw the children. The 
 terms upon his card, on his mantelpiece, descended 
 from 600 guineas to 150, which was the smallest 
 head-size. Having two in one frame increased the 
 price by two-thirds, and thus the regular charge 
 for the portrait would have been 250 guineas. 
 Sir Thomas, captivated by the loveliness of the 
 children and sympathising with the feeling of the 
 mother, asked only 200 guineas. " I suppose," says 
 Mrs. Calmady, " I must have looked despairingly, 
 for he immediately offered, without my saying a 
 word, 'Well, we must say fji.'^o for merely the two 
 little heads in a circle, and some sky, and finish at 
 once.' " Upon the mother expressing her delight 
 at the chalk drawing, as soon as the two heads 
 were sketched in, he replied that " he would devote 
 that day to doing a little more on it, and would be 
 glad of her acceptance of it, as he would begin 
 another." The public, in one sense, must be glad 
 of this liberality, for a more free, masterly, and 
 exquisitely beautiful sketch was scarcely ever 
 made. It may be doubted, however, whether 
 upon the whole this circumstance is to be rejoiced 
 in, for the sketch gave a promise of even a more 
 beautiful piece than that which he afterwards 
 completed. Both of the faces were full, and that 
 of the child, now in profile, was even more beautiful 
 than the side face ; and both were rich and lovely, 
 more soft and delicate in the sketch than in the 
 finishetl picture. When the painting was finished, 
 Sir Thomas declared, " This is my best picture. I 
 have no hesitation in saying so — my best picture 
 of the kind, quite — one of the few I should wish 
 hereafter to be known by." It is interesting to 
 add that Lawrence, then at the height of his 
 reputation, practically lived with the children 
 during the time he painted them, keeping them so 
 well amused that they looked upon the courtly 
 President of the Royal Academy as a playmate. 
 He frequently detained them at his house for their 
 meals, and on one occasion was discovered with 
 the younger child " on his knee, feeding it with 
 mashed potatoes and mutton chops, whilst he was 
 
 coaxing and caressing the other, fed by a servant." 
 Another time, when the little girl got hold of his 
 palette and daubed her hands and face with 
 colour, Mrs. Calmady found Sir Thomas, assisted 
 by his servant, busily engaged in washing her. 
 
 14. "The Honourable Claude Hamilton." 
 
 This beautiful study was made for the well- 
 known oval painting by Lawrence for Lord 
 Abercorn, the father of the boy. Claude was the 
 second son of the ninth Earl, and was born in 
 1787, and died in 1808. 
 
 15. "Mrs. Wolff." 
 
 For nearly thirty years Lawrence was on terms 
 of intimate friendship with Mrs. Wolff. She was 
 the wife of Jens Wolfi, the Danish Consul, who 
 had at his house, Sherwood Lodge, Battersea, a 
 fine collection of casts from the antique. 
 Lawrence commenced his well-known oil portrait 
 of this lady in 1803, but did not finish it until 1815, 
 when it was exhibited at the Royal Academy. He 
 kept up an intimate correspondence with the lady, 
 who became separated from her husband, and it 
 is mentioned in his life that he made many 
 drawings of her. After Mrs. WoWs death, in 
 1829, Lawrence mourned for her to the end of his 
 life. Fanny Kemble relates that shortly before 
 his death he was affected almost to tears at the 
 singing of one of Mrs. Wolff's original songs. 
 
 16. "Chalk Drawing of a Boy." 
 
 One of Lawrence's inimitable studies of Child 
 Life, in which he was equalled only by Gains- 
 borough anil RcynoUls. From the style of dress, 
 it w'as probably drawn in the first decade of the 
 19th century. 
 
 17. "James, Viscount Hamilton." 
 
 A study for the oval painting by Lawrence, 
 exhibited at the Royal Academy of 1790. James 
 was the eldest son of John James, ninth Earl of 
 Abercorn, and was born in 1786, married Harriet, 
 daughter of the Hon. John Douglas, in 1809, and 
 died in 18 14. 
 
 18. "Elizabeth Duchess of Devonshire." 
 
 A certain amount of confusion has always 
 existed between the posthumous identity of the 
 two wives of William, fifth Duke of Devonshire, 
 both of whom were much about the same age, 
 famous beauties, leaders of fashion, and not 
 greatly dissimilar in appearance. The Duke's 
 first wife was the fascinating Georgiana Spencer, 
 daughter of the Earl Spencer, one of the leaders 
 of iSth century society. She married the Duke in 
 
An Exliibitioii of Sixty Draiuiiigs by Sir TJiomas Lawrence, P.R A. 
 
 1774. Her constant friend and companion was 
 Lady Betty Foster, lUc Hervey, daughter of the 
 Earl Bristol, who had married a gentleman named 
 John Thomas Foster. The latter's death appears 
 to have been somewhat of a reUef to her. She 
 and the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire appear 
 to have been inseparable. Georgiana died in 1 806, 
 and the widower married Lady Betty Foster three 
 3'ears later. The Duke survived his second 
 marriage only a short time, dying in 181 1. 
 Lawrence's drawing represents the Duchess some 
 ten years later. She died in 1824. 
 
 19. "Mrs. Wolff." 
 
 This drawing of Mrs. Wolff must be accounted 
 the most beautiful portrait which the artist 
 produced of this fascinating v.oman, with whom 
 he remained on terms of great intimacy for the 
 twenty years preceding her death. Not even in 
 his celebrated oil picture of her — the one well 
 known from the engraving by Cousins — does he 
 present her with such easy and unconscious grace. 
 The drawing is so like the picture in its pose and 
 expression that he probably made it either as a 
 preliminary idea for the latter, or to assist him 
 during its painting. This hypothesis, however, 
 gives little clue to the date of the drawing, for 
 the picture, began in 1803, was not finished until 
 1815. The drawing must be ranked as one of the 
 painter's finest achievements — a proof of the often 
 repeated criticism that his best works were the 
 ones done most quickly — the swift, supple 
 execution, so easy yet so well informed, its spon- 
 taneity not marred by over elaboration, going to 
 show that the artist produced the work in a single 
 sitting, before second thoughts could originate 
 to conflict with the homogeneity of his original 
 conception. 
 
 20. "Princess Charlotte." 
 
 Princess Charlotte Augusta, only daughter of 
 George IV., was the subject of Lawrence's pencil 
 several times at periods ranging from her infancy 
 to her early death. The latter event was uni- 
 versally mourned, as the Princess was intensely 
 popular, and the accession of the Duke of Clarence, 
 afterwards Wilham IV., was looked forward to 
 with an apprehension which fortunately provetl 
 wholly without justification. 
 
 21. "The Misses Hill." 
 
 This portrait is a late specimen of Lawrence's 
 work, the style of the ladies' hair being that in 
 vogue about the period of his death. 
 
 22. " Countess Gower, afterwards Duchess 
 
 of Sutherland." 
 
 A sketch for the celebrated picture of Countess 
 Gower and child, exhibited at the Royal Academy 
 
 of 1828, which was one of the artist's most popular 
 and successful works, the engravings from it, 
 and that of her sister. Lady Dover, being found in 
 ail parts of Europe. Harriet Elizabeth Georgiana 
 Howard was the daughter of George, sixth Earl of 
 Carlisle. She married in 1823, George, Earl of 
 Gower, afterwards second Duke of Sutherland, 
 and died in 1868. 
 
 23. "Fancy Head." 
 
 In this masterly drawing the artist, with a 
 wonderful economy of line, gives a most beautiful 
 presentment of a young and charming model, and 
 it is far superior to many of his more elaborate 
 effects. 
 
 24. "Miss Sarah Siddons." 
 
 The story of Lawrence's relations with this 
 beautiful but ill-fated girl is recorded at length in 
 " An Artist's Love Story," by Oswald G. Knapp. 
 She was the eldest daughter of Mrs. Siddons, the 
 famous actress, of whom Lawrence made several 
 portraits when a boy. After the artist set up in 
 town, he became an intimate friend of the family. 
 Sarah and her sister Maria were children when he 
 first knew them, but as they grew up the im- 
 pressionable artist became smitten with the 
 charms of the elder girl. If not an engagement, 
 at least an understanding was arrived at between 
 the pair, when Lawrence became moody and 
 melancholy, and finally confessed that he had 
 mistaken his inclinations, and it was the younger 
 sister to whom his affections leant. Sarah 
 relinquished her lover, and with the consent of the 
 family the artist became engaged to Maria ; but 
 once more Lawrence's affections veered round, and 
 he discovered that it was Sarah whom he had 
 loved all the time. The outcome of the matter 
 was tragic ; both the girls were consumptive, and 
 in any case would probably not have lived long, 
 but in the midst of the love-affair Maria was taken 
 ill and died, on her death-bed making her sister 
 promise that on no account would she marry 
 Lawrence. Sarah promised, and, though the 
 artist besieged her with proffers of marriage, 
 declined to listen to them. She followed her sister 
 to the grave a year or two later. Their deaths in 
 all probability were not accelerated by Lawrence's 
 conduct, as they both appeared to have recognised 
 that the artist was weak rather than blameworthy, 
 and, though very impressionable, incapable of a 
 long sustained and ardent passion for one person, 
 and to have in the end regarded him with a 
 pitying and tolerant affection rather than love. 
 Mrs. Siddons, long after the death of her daughters, 
 requested that Lawrence should be one of the pall- 
 bearers at her funeral, but the artist pre-deceased 
 her. The drawing evidently synchronises with 
 the one of Miss Sarah Siddons drawn by Lawrence 
 in 1803, now in the British Museum. 
 
MKS. WOLFF FROM A DRAWING BV SIR THOMAS LAWRENCE, P.R.A. 
 
 13 
 
A)i Exliibitioii of Sixty Draivings by Sir TJiomas Lawrence, P.R.A. 
 
An ExJiibition of Sixty Drawings by Sir Thomas Lawrence, P.R.A. 
 
An Exhibition of Sixty Draivings by Sir Tlioiiias Laivreiice, P.R.A. 
 
 " Sir John Moore." 
 
 This spirited sketch of the celebrated general 
 whose skill foiled Napoleon's masterly strategy 
 for the subjection of Spain probably belongs to an 
 earlier date than the well-known oil portrait. Sir 
 John Moore had a distinguished career, assisting 
 in driving the French out of Corsica and in the 
 reduction of some of their possessions in the West 
 Indies. He took part in the Egyptian campaign 
 in 1801, and was given a command in the English 
 forces in Spain in 1808. When Napoleon invaded 
 the latter country with overwhelming forces, 
 Moore, with a small British army, made his famous 
 march, threatening the communications of the 
 French, and so compelling them to cease their 
 campaign in the interior of Spain and turn their 
 attention to the British forces. His retreat to 
 Corunna was made in 1809, and he secured the 
 safe embarkation of his army into the British 
 transports assembled off the port by repulsing the 
 French in an attack upon his position, but received 
 his death-wound in doing so. He was buried at 
 Corunna on the spot where he fell. 
 
 " Lady Catherine Elizabeth Hamilton." 
 
 This lady was the daughter of John James, 
 ninth Earl of Abercorn, and married the Earl of 
 Aberdeen. Lawrence painted man)' members of 
 the Hamilton family. The subject has been 
 engraved by C. G. Lewis. 
 
 "Abel R. Dottin, Esq., M.P." 
 
 The subject of this portrait, a typical English- 
 man of the late period of the Regency, the drawing 
 giving the characteristic costume and style 
 of hair, was Member for Southampton. He 
 was one of Lawrence's earliest patrons, having 
 sat to him in 1782, before the artist set up in 
 London. 
 
 " Portrait of a Lady." 
 
 The date of this delicate and refined chalk 
 drawing is about 1810, and shows the work of 
 Lawrence in the prime of his power. 
 
 " Princess Lieven." 
 
 Princess Lieven, wife of the Ambassador who 
 represented Russia at the Court of St. James 
 from 1812 to 1834, was one of the leaders of 
 English Society during that period. She was 
 well known at Almacks, and a frequent guest of 
 George IV. at the Pavilion, his country residence 
 at Brighton. Greville, in his " Memoirs," 
 describes her as "a tres grande dame, with 
 abilities of a very fine order, great tact and 
 finesse, and taking a boundless pleasure in the 
 society of the great world and in political affairs 
 
 of every sort." She was fascinating and viva- 
 cious rather than a beauty, and Lawrence's 
 courtly pencil has somewhat flattered her. His 
 drawing was engraved by William Bromley, 
 A.R. A., in 1823. Another version of the drawing, 
 but of the head of the subject only, is now at 
 St. Petersburg. 
 
 30. "Mrs. Isabella Fairlie." 
 
 This lady, who married Mr. John Fairlie, was 
 one of the friends of Lawrence, and he painted 
 her on several occasions. The present version 
 was engraved by F. C. Lewis. 
 
 31. "Emma Lady Hamilton." 
 
 The only picture which Lawrence exhibited at 
 the Royal Academy of this famous beauty was the 
 one catalogued in the E.xhibition of 1792 as " Por- 
 trait of a Lady of Fashion as ' La Penserosa. ' " 
 His eagerness to secure a sight of Romney's 
 fascinating model is shown by an undated letter 
 which he wrote to his friend, Daniel L)-sons, very 
 delicately hinting that he would like to break an 
 appointment with the latter in order to secure an 
 introduction to " Mrs. Hart," the name by which 
 the future Lady Hamilton was then styled. The 
 artist writes : "A particular friend promised to 
 get me introduced at Sir William Hamilton's, to 
 see this wonderful woman you have doubtless 
 heard of — Mrs. Hart. He has succeeded, but has 
 unfortunately made an appointment for that 
 purpose on Sunday nc.\t at half-past ten. What 
 shall I do ? I hear it is a most gratifying 
 thing to the painter's eye that can be. and I am 
 frightened, at the same time, with the intimation 
 that she will soon be Lady Hamilton, and that I 
 may get no other opportunity ; yet I do not know 
 that I can receive greater pleasure than I should 
 have in reviewing beautiful scenery of nature 
 with Mr. Lysons. Send me your opinion on the 
 case. ..." Though Lawrence's " La Pen- 
 serosa " is a charming picture, one regrets that 
 he did not carry out the conception shown in 
 this sketch in preference, where Lady Hamilton 
 is depicted with eijual beauty and far more 
 vivacity. 
 
 32. " Head of a Lady." 
 
 This piquant study in red chalk by Lawrence of 
 an unknown but very charming lady is one of 
 his most vigorous sketches, and wonderful for the 
 power in which he suggests tone and colour in a 
 few hasty strokes. 
 
 33. "Head of a Lady." 
 
 Probably the same model who served for No. 32. 
 A hurried sketch, but even more dainty and facile 
 in its execution. 
 
 17 
 
An Exhibition of Sixty Draivings by Sir TJioinas Lawrence, P.R.A. 
 
 " Study for the Head of Homer." 
 
 This beautiful and elaborate drawing, touched 
 with much delicacy, and revealing a grip of 
 masculine character, which was not often seen in 
 Lawrence's early work. The texture of the hair 
 and beard is admirably suggested. The date of 
 the work is 1790. 
 
 " Ulysses and Circe." 
 
 The style of the work points to its being 
 executed after Lawrence commenced his acquaint- 
 ance with Flaxman, with whom he enjoyed a long 
 and intimate friendship. The modelling of the 
 figures is ably suggested with a minimum of effort, 
 and it must rank as one of Lawrence's most 
 successful classical conceptions, though, like most 
 of his similar studies, it was never carried to 
 completion. 
 
 " Lady Charlotte Susan Maria Camp- 
 bell, afterwards Lady Bury." 
 
 Lady Charlotte appears to have first sat to 
 Lawrence in 1803, when he produced the portrait 
 of her exhibited at the Royal Academy that year, 
 and also the drawing of the lady engraved by 
 Lewis. The present work — a fine example of the 
 artist's too rarely exercised power of expressing a 
 likeness in a few sentient strokes — is a variant of 
 the latter, presenting the subject more in full face. 
 It dates seven years after her marriage with 
 Colonel John Campbell and six years before the 
 latter's death, which was to leave her in the 
 straitened circumstances from which she 
 endeavoured to rescue herself by her literary 
 labours. 
 
 " Emma Lady Hamilton" 
 
 This unfinished sketch is most interesting as 
 showing the care with which Lawrence set about 
 his picture of Lady Hamilton — a theme in which 
 he was to measure against Romney, Reynolds, rmd 
 all the great contemporary portrait painters. This 
 composition — one of several inspired by the same 
 subject — was doubtless rejected as approaching 
 too nearly some of Romney's presentments of 
 the beautiful model. 
 
 " Lady Charlotte Susan Maria Bury, 
 nee Campbell." 
 
 Though practically only a study of the eyes and 
 nose of the face shown in No. 9, this drawing attains 
 a depth of expression rarely exemplified in 
 Lawrence's work. It is interesting to compare 
 this with the finished drawing, and see how 
 Lawrence in the latter, while preserving the like- 
 ness, has endowed his subject with an appearance 
 of youth which scarcely belonged to her. 
 
 39. " Lady Worsley." 
 
 An early example of Lawrence, illustrative of 
 the quaint but picturesque costume which was 
 fashionable in the last decade of the i8th century. 
 The lady, whose maiden name was Seymour 
 Dorothy Fleming, was daughter and co-heir of 
 Sir John Fleming, of Brompton Park. She 
 married Sir R. Worsley, of Appuldercombe, in 
 1775- 
 
 40. "Lady Hamilton." 
 
 Lady Hamilton was the daughter of James, 
 Viscount Hamilton, and married, in 1836, Rear- 
 Admiral ^^■illiam Alexander Bailey Hamilton, R.N. 
 
 41. "The Ladies Maryborough," 
 
 This highly wrought and fascinating example of 
 Lawrence's work, when in the height of his power, 
 is a version of the well-known work executed for 
 the Duke of Wellington, and may probably be 
 regarded as an amended version, for in the Duke's 
 drawing the three ladies were shown in full length, 
 and their ftgures, as is often the case with Lawrence, 
 are not nearly so finely executed as the heads. 
 The three ladies were nieces of the Duke, being 
 daughters of his elder brother, Lord Maryborough. 
 
 Mary Charlotte Anne, married 22nd July, 1806, 
 to the Rt. Hon. Sir Charles Bagot, died 2nd 
 February, 1845. 
 
 Emily Harriet, married 13th March, 1814, to 
 Field-Marshal the First Lord Raglan, the Com- 
 mander of the English Army in the Crimean War. 
 
 Priscilla Anne, married 26th June, to John, 
 eleventh Earl of Westmorland. 
 
 42. "Two Children." 
 
 This drawing, which was engraved by C. G. 
 Lewis for " The Cabinet of Gems," has never been 
 identified, though it is possible that it is one of 
 the preliminary studies which the artist made 
 of the Calmady children, the ages and general 
 appearance of the respective pairs of children 
 closely corresponding. 
 
 43. "Miss Lucy Meredith." 
 
 This drawing is signed by Lawrence with his 
 initials T.L., and dated February 15th, 1813. 
 Miss Lucy Meredith, who afterwards became 
 Mrs. Aston, was the daughter of Lawrence's 
 eldest sister, Lucy, wife of Mr. John Meredith. 
 The drawing was engraved b}' F. C. Lewis in 183 1. 
 
 44. "Mrs. Flaxman." 
 
 This lady's maiden name was Anne Denman. 
 Flaxman married her in 1782. Shortly after the 
 event. Sir Joshua Reynolds met the sculptor in 
 the street and said to him, " Flaxman, I am told 
 you are married ; if so, sir, I tell you you are 
 
 18 
 
Au ExJiibition of Sixty Drazvings by Sir Thomas Lawrence, P.R.A. 
 
An Exliibition of Sixty Draivings by Sir Thomas Lazvrence, P.R.A. 
 
 THE CALMADY CHILDREN 
 
 20 
 
 THE MISSES HILL 
 
An Exiiibitioii of Sixty Drawings by Sir Thomas Lawrence, P.R.A. 
 
 MISS ANNE LAWRKNCE 
 
 FANCY HEAD 
 
All Exhibition of Sixty Drawings by Sit Thomas Laivrence, P.R.A. 
 
 ruined for an artist." The cynical prophecy of 
 the bachelor portrait painter was happily falsified ; 
 for, to quote one of Flaxman's biographers, 
 " Mrs. Flaxman was amiable and accomplished, 
 had a taste for art and literature, was skilful in 
 German and French, and, like her husband, had 
 acquired some knowledge of Greek. But what 
 was better than all, she was an enthusiastic 
 admirer of his genius ; she cheered and encouraged 
 him in moments of despondency, regulated 
 modestly and prudently his domestic economy, 
 arranged his drawings — acted in all particulars 
 so that it seemed as if the Church in performing 
 a marriage had accomplished a miracle and 
 blended them really into one flesh and blood." 
 Mrs. Flaxman died in 1820, her husband surviving 
 her by six years. 
 
 45. "John Flaxman, R.A." 
 
 Lawrence's high regard for Flaxman was shown 
 by the warm eulogy he passed on the great 
 sculptor after the latter's death. " The elements 
 of Flaxman's style," said the painter, " were 
 founded on Grecian Art — on its noblest principles, 
 on its deepest intellectual power, and not on the 
 mere surface of its skill. Though master of the 
 purest lines, he was still more the sculptor of 
 sentiment than form ; and whilst the philosopher, 
 the statesman, and the hero were treated by him 
 with appropriate dignity, not even in Eaphael 
 have the gentler feelings of sorrows and human 
 nature been treated with more touching pathos 
 than in the various designs and models of this 
 inestimable man." Flaxman died on December 
 7th, 1826, in his seventy-second 3'ear. Lawrence's 
 drawing represents him eight years earlier, 
 before the death of the sculptor's wife had shat- 
 tered his domestic felicity and helped to break 
 up his health. It and the companion one of 
 Mrs. Flaxman may have been done as some sort 
 of requital for the plaster cast of the " Shield of 
 Achilles " — one of Flaxman's finest works, given 
 to Lawrence in 1818. The drawing reveals the 
 simple and blameless character of the sculptor, 
 of whom Lawrence said, " A more perfect exemplar 
 of the good man was to be found in his conduct 
 than in all the theories of the learned." 
 
 46. " William Hyde Wollaston." 
 
 William Hyde Wollaston (1766-1828), the well- 
 known chemist, was originally educated for the 
 medical profession, and took the highest degrees 
 possible at Caius College, Cambridge. After prac- 
 tising a few years he turned his attention wholly to 
 scientific investigation, discovering the existence 
 of the metals palladium and rhodium, and invent- 
 ing the goniometer and other scientific instruments. 
 He was elected a' Fellow of the Royal Society in 
 1793, and was appointed Secretary of that Institu- 
 tion in 1806. He was also for some years a 
 Vice-President of the Geological Society. 
 
 Engraved by F. C. Lewis, 1830. 
 
 47. "Margaret Carpenter." 
 
 This lady was in all probability the wife of 
 James Carpenter, the well-known bookseller and 
 publisher of 14, Old Bond Street. It will be 
 remembered that between 1791 and 1794 Lawrence 
 lived only a few doors away from Carpenter's shop, 
 taking up his residence in 24, Old Bond Street, in 
 the former year, and moving to No. 29, on the 
 opposite side of the street, when he was elected 
 Extra Associate of the Royal Academy. The 
 style of the drawing corresponds with this period 
 of the artist's career. Her son was William 
 Carpenter, Keeper of the Print Room in the 
 British Museum. 
 
 48. "Miss Kate Perry." 
 
 The elaborate study, probably intended for a 
 larger portrait, gives an example of the turban 
 so fashionable at the beginning of the 19th 
 century. 
 
 49. " Mrs. J. J. Angerstein and her Son." 
 
 The Angersteins were among Lawrence's earliest 
 patrons and most consistent friends. The painter 
 helped Mr. Angerstein to form his fine collection of 
 pictures, and it was largely through his efforts 
 that it was sold to the nation to form the nucleus 
 of the British National Gallery, instead of being 
 purchased by the Prince of Orange, a rival bidder. 
 Lawrence painted numerous portraits of the 
 Angerstein family, the dates of their exhibition 
 ranging from 1702 to 1800. The present example 
 is a sketch for the picture exhibited at the Royal 
 Academy of 1800, catalogued as " Mrs. J. Anger- 
 stein," but really representing Mrs. Angerstein 
 and her son. The picture was generally praised 
 by the critics, but some complained that the 
 head of the child was inordinatelv large — a fault 
 not apparent in the sketch. 
 
 50. " Sir Thomas Lawrence." 
 
 This autograph portrait of Lawrence represents 
 him shortly after the date when the newly-formed 
 American Academy of the Fine Arts (it was 
 founded in 18 16) honoured Lawrence and them- 
 selves by electing him as an Honorary Member 
 of the Institution. The diploma is dated Jan. 
 2oth, 1818, and is signed by John Turnbull, the 
 President of the Academy, and A. Robertson, its 
 Secretary. Sir Thomas reciprocated the com- 
 pliment by sending as his diploma picture a 
 portrait of Benjamin West, then President of 
 the Royal Academy. The drawing of Lawrence 
 was engraved by J. Worthington. 
 
 51. "Sir Samuel Romilly." 
 
 A study for the picture in the National Por- 
 trait Gallery, and giving a different idea of the 
 character of the man from that version, in which 
 Lawrence has represented his subject with a 
 
 22 
 
An Exhihitioji of Sixty Drawijigs by Sir Tlioiiias Lmurence, P.R.A. 
 
 smiling face. The drawing corresponds far more 
 closely with the idea we have of the distinguished 
 lawyer and statesman, of whom it has been 
 written : that he was regarded with awe by his 
 intimates and carried the austerity so marked on 
 his features into general society. He was born 
 in 1757, was called to the Bar in 1783, and was 
 largely instrumental in reducing the barbarous 
 sentences, such as hanging for petty theft and 
 others of a like nature, which then disfigured the 
 English law. He died in 1818, committing suicide 
 through grief at the loss of his wife. 
 
 52. "Portrait of a Child." 
 
 This clever sketch is one of Lawrence's most 
 charming representations of childhood, a phase of 
 portraiture in which he vied with Reynolds and 
 Gainsborough. 
 
 53. "William Charles Macready." 
 
 William Charles Macready (1793-1873) was one 
 of the most celebrated actors of the 19th century. 
 He made his first appearance at Birmingham 
 as " Romeo " in 1810, and in a few years became 
 the undisputed head of his profession. In 1843 
 he visited America, and again in 1848. He died 
 in 1873. The portrait is a sketch for the sub- 
 scription portrait of Macready as " Richard HI." 
 at the Theatre Royal. Bristol. 
 
 54. "Mrs. Bannister, nee Kate Harper." 
 
 This clever drawing, which is di.stinguished by 
 its delightful sense of ease and freedom, is a 
 portrait of the wife of John Bannister, the well- 
 known contemporary actor, whom Lawrence 
 painted more than once. 
 
 55. " Mary Baker (Caraboo Princess of 
 
 Javasu)." 
 
 On the 3rd April, 1817, a young woman made 
 her appearance at a cottage near Knole Park. 
 Gloucestershire, and made signs that she wanted 
 to sleep there. She was dressed poorly, but 
 quaintly, with a sort of turban round her head. 
 Neither the cottagers nor the overseer to whom 
 they applied were able to understand her language, 
 so she was taken to Knole Park, where she was 
 entertained by Mr. and Mrs. James Worral, who 
 lived there. For some time her nationality 
 remained a mystery. She would touch neither 
 animal food nor intoxicants, and lived chiefly on 
 boiled rice, water and tea. Presently a gentleman 
 who had travelled in the East Indies was brought 
 to her, and by his knowledge of Eastern tongues, 
 eked out with signs, he managed to obtain the 
 following particulars of her origin. She was 
 Caraboo Princess of Javasu, and had been kid- 
 napped by pirates. She was sold as a slave, 
 and, after many acU'cntures, managed to escape 
 
 to England. Once her identity was known, the 
 Princess became the rage, and held a kind of 
 court at Bath. Artists painted her and the 
 English Foreign Office was appealed to to restore 
 her to her native country. Her notoriety proved 
 the undoing of the Princess, for she was recognised , 
 not as a high-born foreigner, but as Mary Baker, 
 a native of Devon and an ex-servant girl who 
 had run away from her place, and, after various 
 vicissitudes, adopted the role in which she achieved 
 her notoriety. Mr. Worral paid for her passage 
 to .A.merica, in the hopes that a situation for 
 her might be obtained in Philadelphia. Of her 
 subsequent career nothing is known. 
 
 Taken from " Devonshire Characters," by Rev. 
 S. Baring Gould, M.A. 
 
 56. " Margaret Agnes Somerville." 
 
 A portrait of the clever and pretty actress, who 
 was born in 1799, and so could only have been in 
 her seventeenth year when Lawrence produced 
 this pleasing portrait of her. 
 
 57. "Lady Blessington (1789-1849)." 
 
 Marguerite, Countess of Blessington, was one of 
 the best known figures in early \ ictorian society. 
 Lawrence painted her in i8i8, the portrait being 
 the well-known work now hanging in the W'allace 
 Collection, London. The drawing belongs to the 
 period immediately antecedent to Lawrence's 
 death, when she was beginning to form her 
 celebrated salon, so well known in the social 
 history of the dav. 
 
 58. "The Duchess of Wellington." 
 
 Lawrence cxLCutcd nuiiiy ])ortraits of the great 
 Duke of Wellington, and several of his wife. This 
 lady was Catherine Packenham, third daughter 
 of Edward Michael, second Lord Longford. She 
 married the future Duke in 1806, shortly after his 
 return from India, and before he had taken any 
 independent command against the French. The 
 style of costume fixes it as one of the latest 
 portraits for which the Duchess sat, she dying in 
 1 83 1, and the costume being that which was worn 
 towards 1830. The drawing is interesting as 
 being one of the artist's last works. 
 
 59. " Sir Thomas Lawrence, P.R.A." 
 
 The third and latest ol the autograph portraits 
 of the artist in this Collection, and the one most 
 characteristic of his fluent handling. The style ot 
 costume fixes the date at about i.-^i;. 
 
 60. " Mrs. John Fairlie and her Sister." 
 
 This lady formed the subject of se\eral of 
 Lawrence's works, being an intimate friend of the 
 painter. She was also painted by Chalon and 
 other artists. 
 
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