Portrait Charles Stanhope Earl Of Harrington With Marcus Richard Fitzroy Thomas,

18th Century Watercolour Lady Harrington as Aurora After Reynolds

British School Allegorical Portrait, Circa 1785

Professionally Conserved and Presented in a Reverse-Profile Gold-Leaf Frame

Item Description

A luminous late-18th-century British School watercolour depicting Jane Stanhope, Countess of Harrington, in the allegorical guise of Aurora, Roman goddess of the dawn.

Painted circa 1785, the composition follows Sir Joshua Reynolds’s celebrated portrait of Jane Fleming as Aurora, completed around 1775 and now at Harewood House.

Lady Harrington stands in a wooded grove wearing a flowing white gown inspired by Classical drapery. A wreath of flowers and a transparent sash scattered with golden stars identify the sitter with Aurora, while a rose, gold and blue sky suggests the departure of night and the arrival of morning.

The anonymous watercolourist combines precise handling through the figure with soft, transparent washes in the landscape. The result is an elegant and highly decorative Georgian portrait with a palette suited to both traditional and contemporary interiors.

Catalogue Note

Reynolds’s Grand Manner portraits elevated aristocratic sitters by associating them with figures drawn from mythology, history and literature.

In the original composition, Jane Fleming is transformed into Aurora through the use of flowers, morning light, white drapery and the star-covered sash of night. The present artist has retained these principal attributes while reinterpreting the image in the more intimate medium of watercolour.

The direct relationship with Reynolds’s documented composition supports the catalogue designation “after Sir Joshua Reynolds”. No claim is made that the work was painted by Reynolds or under his supervision.

The Sitter

Jane Fleming was born in 1755 and became the heiress of Sir John Fleming, 1st Baronet.

She married Charles Stanhope, 3rd Earl of Harrington, in 1779 and subsequently became Countess of Harrington. A prominent figure within Georgian court society, she served Queen Charlotte as a Lady of the Bedchamber.

Her representation as Aurora associates her aristocratic identity with beauty, renewal and the first light of day.

Frame and Display

Recently conserved and presented in a handmade reverse-profile frame with a gold-leaf finish.

The portrait is fitted with AR70 low-reflective, UV-filtering museum-quality glass, allowing the delicate watercolour surface to be viewed with exceptional clarity.

The elegant portrait scale makes the work suitable for a drawing room, bedroom, study, library or curated gallery wall.

Provenance

Private Scottish collection.

Lindsay Burns & Company, Scotland.

Privately loaned and exhibited at the Famous Lord Hill Museum.

Curated and catalogued by Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD®.

Dimensions

Image: 41 cm high by 33 cm wide.

Frame: 55 cm high by 47 cm wide by 1.5 cm deep.

All dimensions are approximate.

Condition

The watercolour is presented in good overall antique condition and has undergone professional conservation.

The colours remain attractive, with areas of foxing and age-related staining visible in places. These marks are consistent with the age and paper support.

The recently added gold-leaf frame and AR70 glazing present well. The work is ready to hang.

Worldwide Shipping

Worldwide delivery is available. The portrait will be carefully protected, professionally packaged and dispatched fully insured.

Attribution and Research

The historical observations, provenance research, attribution analysis and contextual commentary presented within this catalogue entry represent the professional opinion of Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD®. They are offered in good faith as informed scholarly assessments based upon the available evidence, comparative research, published reference material and our experience within the international fine art market.

These observations should be understood as professional opinions rather than definitive statements of fact or guarantees of authorship, attribution, date, origin, provenance or historical interpretation. As with all historic works of art, future documentary discoveries, technical examination, conservation analysis or advances in academic research may refine, expand or revise current interpretations.*Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD®

Specialising in carefully curated British and European fine art, antiques and historic works of art.

Every artwork is professionally researched and catalogued using comparative scholarship, published reference material and more than two decades of experience within the international fine art market. We are committed to offering collectors works of artistic and historical merit accompanied by transparent provenance research, detailed catalogue descriptions and professional, client-focused service.

Additional photographs and further information are available upon request.