Francoise Vigneron Art

DESCRIPTION: Perhaps the best Romney in private hands. If Vogue Magazine existed in the late 18th century, this image of Lady Caroline Price would be ...

Signed, inscribed and dated, lower right: 'Geo Dawe RA St Petersburgh 1819', also signed with initials, lower centre: 'G D RA'; and signed and inscribed verso: 'Geo Dawe RA Pinxit 1819 St Petersburgh'; Also inscribed on the stretcher by Cornelius Varley with varnishing instructions. Collections: Private collection, UK, 2010 Literature: Galina Andreeva Geniuses of War, Weal and Beauty: George Dawe...

Portrait of an Aristocratic Gentleman British artist, first half 18th century oil on canvas, unframed canvas: 50 x 40 inches provenance: private collection, Dorset, England condition...

Presented by Titan Fine Art, this elegant and beautiful portrait depicts Abigail Hay, Lady Dupplin, Countess of Kinnoull; it is an excellent example of English portraiture from the f...

Titan Fine Art present this exquisite portrait, that formed part of a historic collection of an English aristocratic family, Lord and Lady Sandys at their magnificent baroque and Regency Grade-I listed family home, Ombersley Court. The house was among the most fascinating survivals of its kind in this country. The atmospheric interiors were distinguished above all for the works of art associated with two key moments in national history and, more specifically, to the roles of Colonel the Hon. John Russell in the Civil War and the reign of King Charles II and of Lord Arthur Hill, later 2nd Baron Sandys, in the Peninsular War. The collection was acquired or commissioned over five centuries and remained at Ombersley Court until its recent sale, the first in 294 years. The full provenance of our painting, which hung in The Saloon (see photo), is known from its creation right through to now – an extraordinary fact considering its age. This exquisite Grand Manner work is an evocative example of the type of portrait in vogue during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Beautifully composed, the sitter has been depicted full length within surroundings that conveyed cultivation and an elite status – a classical porch with a colossal column. The beautiful colour combination of the azure silks of the dress, the mauve curtain and the sumptuous scarlet wrap imbue the portrait with a sense of luxury and emphasise the fact that this lady was a paragon of the wealthy and privileged society that she belonged to, with the means to commission a notable artist. Portrayed without the use of excessive props and jewellery, the artist knew that the sitter’s beauty was more than enough to captivate the audience. The clothing and hairstyle help to date the portrait to circa 1705. For any respectable woman at this time her skin is sheet white which was highly end vogue. A remarkable care is exercised in rendering of the flesh and the treatment of the drapery, with its delicate folds and virtuoso in the art of conveying the texture of the fabrics. The clear fresh palette, bright eyes, and rendering is exquisite. On the lower right of the portrait is an identifying inscription: 'Lady Tipping / Daughter of Coll. Cheek'. Anne Tipping, née Cheke, was the daughter of Colonel Thomas Cheke (1628-1688) and his wife Letitia, née Russell (1649-1722). Her father was appointed Lieutenant of the Tower of London under King Charles II in 1679 and he held that position until 1687 when James II removed him from office. At the age of 22 Lady Tipping married Sir Thomas Tipping, 1st Bt. (1653-1718) with whom she had three children, Catherine, Letitia, and Thomas. Through her father, Anne inherited the manor of Pyrgom in the village of Havering-atte-Bower, Essex. The house had previously belonged to Henry VIII, and it was here that he made the decision to restore the princesses Mary and Elizabeth to the succession to the throne. In 1724, Anne helped to found the Dame Tipping school in Havering-atte-Bower, which was endowed from her death in 1728 by a legacy in her will. Anne was lucky to have independent means, as her husband led a tumultuous life, dying in debt in Southwark prison. Anne died when she was just forty-eight years of age and is buried at Havering. Our sitter’s daughter, Letitia Tipping, married Samuel 1st Lord Sandys in 1725. In 1727, she inherited her family’s heirlooms including the possessions of her great uncle Admiral Russell, Earl of Orford. The 1st Earl of Orford (1653-1727) was one of the Immortal Seven who issued the invitation to William III to take the throne. Commander in Chief of the Royal Navy in the Nine Years War, he defeated the French fleet at Barfleur and La Hogue and is an important historic figure. Once owned by Evesham Abbey, the manor of Ombersley was acquired by the Sandys family in the early 1600s, when Sir Samuel Sandys, the eldest son of Edwin Sandys, Bishop of Worcester and later Archbishop of York, took a lease on the manor, before receiving an outright grant in 1614. The present house, Ombersley Court, dates from the time of Samuel, 1st Lord Sandys, between 1723 and 1730. The house itself is a fine example of an English Georgian country house set in rolling countryside and surrounded by Wellingtonias, planted to commemorate the Battle of Waterloo by Arthur Hill, 2nd Baron Sandys, who played a distinguished part in the battle and was one of the Duke of Wellington’s aides de camp. The Duke also stayed in the house and in the Great Hall, was the Waterloo banner which was brought to the house by Sir Arthur Hill, aide-de-camp to the Duke of Wellington, who succeeded his mother, the Marchioness of Downshire as 2nd Lord Sandys. Further Waterloo memorabilia are kettle drums from battle. The family had a strong tradition of military and political service, dating back to the 17th century, and this was also reflected in the fine collection of portraits and paintings in the house. In short, Ombersley represented a vital aspect of British history. The house and more especially the collection were of the greatest historical importance. Houses that have remained in the possession of the same family for as many as three centuries have become increasingly rare. Through this portrait, collectors have a chance to acquire a piece of British history and an evocative vestige of a glittering way of life, which is now gone. The work has been well preserved and cared for over its circa 325 years of age, only requiring the removal of a discoloured varnish recently – now the fine details and the true colours can be appreciated. The work can now be safely and fully enjoyed by future generations. Presented in a striking ebonised frame with applied carved and pierced gilded foliage, which is a work of art in itself. Sir Godfrey Kneller (1646-1723) dominates our understanding of British portraiture at the turn of the seventeenth century. With Van Dyck, Lely and Reynolds, his name has become synonymous with the visual interpretation of British history – not least because he painted almost every person of prominence in forty years of British public life. This reputation was well-deserved, and although Kneller's age embraced many accomplished painters - John Closterman, for example, Jonathan Richardson the Elder, or Michael Dahl- none came close to Kneller in immediate fame, or in such instant association in the popular mind with the exercise of portraiture. Kneller is remembered for having painted ten ruling sovereigns, including every reigning British monarch from King Charles II to King George I. Provenance By descent to the sitter's daughter, Letitia Tipping (1699-1779), wife of Samuel Sandys, 1st Baron Sandys (1695-1770), and by descent to their son, Edwin Sandys, 2nd Baron Sandys (1726-1797), and by inheritance to his niece, Mary, Marchioness of Downshire and 1st Baroness Sandys (1764-1836), and by descent to her second son, Lieutenant-General Arthur Hill, 2nd Baron Sandys (1792-1860), and by inheritance to his younger brother, Arthur Marcus Sandys, 3rd Baron Sandys (1798-1863), and thence by descent to, Richard Hill...

This magnificent grand-scale work, offered by Titan Fine Art, formed part of a collection of family pictures and heirlooms of the Rivers Baronets and their descendants for over 325 years, before it was dispersed by the last in the line in 1988. The work was painted by the most technically proficient painter in England after the death of Van Dyck, and the dominant court painter to Charles II and James, Duke of York, Sir Peter Lely. It is no surprise that for years Lely had no serious rivals, was enormously influential and successful, and one of the country’s most important painters – and his work influenced countless artists over generations. The exquisite carved and gilded auricular frame is an astounding work of art in itself. The sitters in this exquisite double portrait are Sir John Rivers, who succeeded as the 3rd Baronet Chafford in 1657 (c.1638 - c. 1679), and his wife, Lady Anne Hewitt (c.1640-c.1689). They are seated in an outdoor setting beside a fountain modelled as a female figure with water issuing into a scallop-shell. The water, the elaborate sculpted fountain with its scallop-edged bowl, and the open shell in her hand are symbols of fertility - as such they make an appropriate allusion to Lady Anne’s potential as wife and mother, recalling Proverbs, chapter 5, verse 18: “Let thye fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of thye youth”. This reference was realised, as Sir John and Lady Anne produced at least six children; their son George (1665-1734) became 4th Baronet of Chafford. The composition, thus, represents a celebration of marriage and was likely commissioned around the time of the betrothal (the marriage took place 26th Feb 1662 or 1663). The statues in the left margin are 'Youth and 'Old Age' and are a typical form of Memento Mori reminding virile young man that even they will lose their youth and grow old. The Rivers family, originally of Kent, traces its history to Sir Bartholomew Rivers, in the reign of Edward IV. The family included several prominent members including several knights, a Commander in the King's Army, a steward of a ducal estate, a Lord-Mayor of London, and an M.P. John Rivers (c.1659-c.1651) was made 1st Baronet of Chafford in 1622 by King James I. The Chafford estate was the family seat and it remained so until the early 1700s with the death of Sir George Rivers, 4th Baronet (1665–1734), whose sons had all died. The Chafford estate was left to his daughters while the baronetcy passed to nephew John Rivers, 5th Baronet (c. 1718–1743), and then Sir John’s brother, Sir Peter Rivers-Gay, 6th Baronet (c. 1721–1790). Upon Sir Peter Rivers Gay's death the estate passed to his eldest son, Sir Thomas Rivers Gay, 7th Baronet (c. 1770–1805). Sir Thomas, dying in 1805 with no children, bequeathed the estate to his mother Dame Martha Rivers Gay, who managed the estate until 1834 when she settled it on the then Sir Henry Rivers, 9th Baronet (c. 1779–1851) her younger son, before dying shortly thereafter in 1835. Sir Henry had married in 1812 to Charlotte Eales, with whom he had 6 sons and 8 daughters. Upon his death in 1851 the estate passed to his eldest surviving son Sir James Francis Rivers, 10th Baronet (1822–1869). Sir James married Catherine Eastcott in 1867 but died childless in 1869, and the estate passed to his only surviving brother Sir Henry Chandos Rivers, 11th Baronet (1834–1870) but he died a year later in 1870 also childless; with no male heir the Baronetcy was therefore extinguished. The estate was bequeathed, in trust, by Sir Henry Chandos Rivers to Thomas Frederick Inman, a solicitor of Bath, who then managed the estate as a trustee on behalf of Sir Henry Chandos Rivers' sister Katherine Rivers (c.1826-1895). It then passed to Katherine River’s daughter, Katherine Wall (born c.1855), who had also inherited Worthy Park House from her father, George Alfred Ellis Wall (1825-1875). Until 1958 our portrait is known to have hung at Worthy Park House. Upon Katherine Wall’s death, the Rivers estate passed to her daughter, Katherine Eleonora Rivers Fryer (1889-1963), who married Colonel James Alexander Butchart 1877-1853. In 1958 the family sold Worthy Park House but our portrait was loaned to Southampton Museum and Art Gallery. After the death of Katherine and Colonel James, the estate was left to their only son, Charles Bruce Rivers Butchart (1917-2005) and upon Charles’ retirement to a nursing home in 1988, and without heirs, our portrait, along with the residual assets of the Rivers estate were sold, thus ending over 325 years of continual family ownership. Lady Anne Rivers is thought to have been born circa 1640. She was the fourth child of the second marriage of Sir Thomas Hewitt (or Hewett) (1606-1662), 1st Baronet of Pishobury, Herts, and his wife Margaret Lytton (died 1689). Sir Thomas was an English landowner and M.P. for Windsor and upon the English Restoration...

Titan Fine Art present this striking portrait, which was painted by one of the most talented artists working in England during the last half of the 17th century, John Greenhill. Gre...

French School, after Pierre Mignard Louis XIV on Horseback oil on canvas, unframed painting: 60 x 41 inches provenance: private collection, UK The paint...

Portrait of a young girl, full-length, wearing a blue silk gown, standing on a terrace beside a classical urn holding a branch with blossom. Attributed to John Riley...

18th Century European Portrait of a Child Saint John the Baptist Oil on Canvas 19 x 14 1/4 inches This lovely and sensitively painting has been examined by a professional restorer w...

Portrait of Françoise Marie de Bourbon, Duchess of Orléans as Venus A magnificent painting depicting the princess in all the splendour of her youth, Françoise Marie de Bourbon, known as the second Mademoiselle de Blois (Maintenon, 1677 - Paris, 1749), daughter of Louis XIV and Madame Montespan, future wife of the Regent. Late 17th century, circa 1695 Pierre Gobert (Fontainebleau, 1662-Paris, 1744) and his workshop Oil on canvas Dimensions: h. 109 cm, w. 92 cm (42.91 in x 36.22 in) Important 19th century Louis XIV style giltwood and gilt stucco stucco finely carved with foliage and scrolls. Framed dimensions: h. 142 cm (55.9 inch), w. 126 cm (49.61 inch) The princess is portrayed full-length seated on a chariot pulled by two doves floating in the sky. Her slender face is draped in an ample antique blue dress...

Portrait of a Clerical Gentleman Italian artist, mid 18th century Circle of Giovanni Battista Carboni (1725-1790) oil on canvas, unframed canvas: 26 x 22 inches provenance: private c...