Study for the group portrait of the Beaumont family (recto)
Maker
(artist)
1734-1802
1734-1802
Title
Study for the group portrait of the Beaumont family (recto)
Date of Production
(circa) 1777 - 1779
Medium
graphite, pen and brown ink and brown wash (recto), graphite (verso), on laid paper
Dimensions
Height: 30.9 cm
Width: 39.1 cm
Width: 39.1 cm
Accession Number
D.1952.RW.3879
Mode of Acquisition
Robert Clermont Witt, bequest, 1952
Credit
The Courtauld, London (Samuel Courtauld Trust)
Copyright
Work in the public domain
Location
Not currently on display
Keywords
Label Text
This is a study for Romney's portrait of the Beaumont family, now in Tate Britain, a commission he accepted in 1777. In it appear the three sons of Richard Beaumont of Whitley Beaumont, Huddersfield, together with his daughter and her husband. Her pose (altered in the painting) is one he was using at the time to symbolize melancholia, and it may have been the artist's intention to show the family contemplating a portrait of their recently deceased brother. The bold washes of brown ink are characteristic of Romney's drawing style.
Provenance
Randall Davies (1866-1946), by July 1941; his sale, Sotheby's (London), 10 - 12 February 1947, lot 302; purchased there via Colnaghi (London) by Sir Robert Witt, London (1872-1952), L.2228b (£48); Witt Bequest 1952
Exhibition History
The Witt Collection - Four centuries of drawings, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 03/04/2004-20/06/2004
George Romney, National Portrait Gallery, London, 30/05/2002-18/08/2002
George Romney, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, England, 08/02/2002-21/04/2002; National Portrait Gallery, London, 30/05/2002-18/08/2002; Huntington Museum and Art Gallery, Los Angeles, California, USA, 15/09/2002-01/12/2002 ...More
George Romney, Walker Art Gallery & Liverpool & England, 07/02/2002-28/04/2002
Neo-Classical Drawings, The Courtauld Gallery, London, November 1972-December 1972
An exhibition of English drawings and water colors from British collections, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 16/04/1962-03/06/1962
An exhibition of English drawings and water colors from British collections, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 18/02/1962-01/04/1962
Old Master Drawings from the Witt Collection, Auckland City Art Gallery, 01/09/1960-01/10/1960
Drawings from the Witt Collection, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 1958-59 ...Less
George Romney, National Portrait Gallery, London, 30/05/2002-18/08/2002
George Romney, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, England, 08/02/2002-21/04/2002; National Portrait Gallery, London, 30/05/2002-18/08/2002; Huntington Museum and Art Gallery, Los Angeles, California, USA, 15/09/2002-01/12/2002 ...More
George Romney, Walker Art Gallery & Liverpool & England, 07/02/2002-28/04/2002
Neo-Classical Drawings, The Courtauld Gallery, London, November 1972-December 1972
An exhibition of English drawings and water colors from British collections, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 16/04/1962-03/06/1962
An exhibition of English drawings and water colors from British collections, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 18/02/1962-01/04/1962
Old Master Drawings from the Witt Collection, Auckland City Art Gallery, 01/09/1960-01/10/1960
Drawings from the Witt Collection, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 1958-59 ...Less
Literature
Petherbridge, Deanna, 'Wild Humours versus Graphic Inventions: The drawings of Romney and Gainsborough', Transactions of the Romney Society 19, 2014
p. 13
Walker Art Gallery; National Portrait Gallery; Huntington Library, 2002, George Romney, 1734-1802, London
no. 84
ill.
An exhibition of English drawings and water colors from British collections, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. and Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1962
cat. no. 63 ...More
Old Master Drawings from the Witt Collection, Auckland City Art Gallery, 1960
cat. no. 15b
Drawings from the Witt Collection, Courtauld Institute Galleries, London, 1958 - 1959
cat. no. 12
Blunt, Anthony, Hand-list of the drawings in the Witt Collection, London, 1956
p. 41
Sewter, A.C., 'Romney's Sketches for the Beaumont Family' in 'Burlington Magazine', July 1941 - 12-13, 16-17; 79, no. 460
p. 12
Pl. I, fig. B (verso), fig. C (recto)
see attached PDF
Alex Kidson, George Romney: A Complete Catalogue of his Paintings (Yale University Press: New Haven & London, 2015)
p. 57
no. 73
Entry for finished Beaumont Family portrait ...Less
p. 13
Walker Art Gallery; National Portrait Gallery; Huntington Library, 2002, George Romney, 1734-1802, London
no. 84
ill.
An exhibition of English drawings and water colors from British collections, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. and Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1962
cat. no. 63 ...More
Old Master Drawings from the Witt Collection, Auckland City Art Gallery, 1960
cat. no. 15b
Drawings from the Witt Collection, Courtauld Institute Galleries, London, 1958 - 1959
cat. no. 12
Blunt, Anthony, Hand-list of the drawings in the Witt Collection, London, 1956
p. 41
Sewter, A.C., 'Romney's Sketches for the Beaumont Family' in 'Burlington Magazine', July 1941 - 12-13, 16-17; 79, no. 460
p. 12
Pl. I, fig. B (verso), fig. C (recto)
see attached PDF
Alex Kidson, George Romney: A Complete Catalogue of his Paintings (Yale University Press: New Haven & London, 2015)
p. 57
no. 73
Entry for finished Beaumont Family portrait ...Less
Inscriptions
Watermark: Watermark: none.
Label: Detached from old mount, now kept separately from file (mount also annotated thus), handwritten in pencil: "4383 / George Romney / 1734-1802 / The Beaumont Family / See same subject T.O / in pencil on reverse / UX".
Inscription: none.
Collector's mark: Recto: lower left corner, stamped in black: Sir Robert Witt (L.2228b).
Label: Detached from old mount, now kept separately from file (mount also annotated thus), handwritten in pencil: "4383 / George Romney / 1734-1802 / The Beaumont Family / See same subject T.O / in pencil on reverse / UX".
Inscription: none.
Collector's mark: Recto: lower left corner, stamped in black: Sir Robert Witt (L.2228b).
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