Attributed to Jonathan Richardson Senior (English, 1677-1745)

A pair of portraits of a lady and gentleman, believed to be Sir Richard Child, 1st Earl Tylney (1680-1750), and his wife Dorothy (née Glynne, 1682-1744) of Wanstead, Essex
oil on canvas
73 x 60.5cm

Provenance:
By descent within the present vendor's family since the 19th century

Richard Child was an English politician best remembered for the construction of Wanstead House, a Neo-Palladian mansion designed by Colen Campbell. Commissioned in 1715, it was completed in 1722 but tragically demolished little over a century later. Richard was the son of Sir Josiah Child (1630-1699), Governor of the East India Company, 1st Baronet of Wanstead. In 1704 he succeeded his half brother to the Baronetcy. A year earlier he had married Dorothy Glynne, daughter of John Glynne and Dorothy Tylney, daughter of Francis Tylney of Tylney Hall, Hampshire. Richard was created 1st Viscount Castlemaine in 1718. In 1730, upon the death of her cousin, Dorothy and her husband inherited the Tylney estates. Richard was subsequently made 1st Earl Tylney which the family adopted as their surname thereafter.

Likely executed circa 1710, this elegant pair portraits, acquired by the present vendor's grandfather in Essex in the 19th century, were traditionally identified as Sir Richard and Lady Child by old inscriptions to the reverse of the canvases (see Fig. 1), now covered by relining during conservation by the current owners at the end of the 20th century. The likenesses of both sitters are corroborated by their depictions, albeit on a smaller scale, in William Hogarth's group portrait, The Assembly at Wanstead House, c. 1728-1731 (Philadelphia Museum of Art, no. M1928-1-13). The identity of the present portrait of Richard Child is further susbstantiated by its close facial resemblance to hitherto his only known individual portrait, recorded in the Wanstead House sale of 1822 as by Richardson, which shows him dressed in blue (Private Collection, see Miles Barton, 'Sir Richard Child of Wanstead: a Portrait Revealed', The Georgian Group Journal, Vol. XIX, 2011, pp. 184-85). Furthermore, a comparable portrait of 'Dorothy, Countess Tylney' by Sir Godfrey Kneller (sold Sotheby's, London, 9th July 1997, lot 25) additionally supports the traditional identification of her present portrayal.

Although the present work depicts Richard Child in a more restrained manner to his other known portrait - which shows him cloaked flamboyantly in blue - the attribution of that work to Jonathan Richardson highlights the family's association with the artist. Indeed, Richard's father, Sir Josiah Child, had previously been painted by Richardson's teacher, John Riley (NPG 5932).