Sir George Hayter
(1792-1871)
Georgiana Russell, Duchess of Bedford (1781-1853)
c.1824
Inscribed lower centre: : "Duchess of Bedford"
Inscribed lower right: "Ds of B"
With artist's estate stamp: "NACHLASS / SIR GEORGE HAYTER"
Pen and ink on paper
20.6 x 17.1 cm
Acquired by a Private Collector, UK
Provenance
Private Collection, UK
References
[1] Thomas Wright, The Works of James Gillray, the Caricaturist, 1873, p.210
[2] In 1817, Hayter painted a portrait of Canova, which is now part of the collection at the Embassy ofthe United Kingdom in Paris
[3] Hayter was a proficient guitarist himself. In 1825, he engraved a portrait of a woman playing a guitarfor the frontispiece of Philippe Verini’s First Rudiments for the Spanish Guitar
[4] Letter from Sydney Smith to Lord Grey, September 1818. Saba Holland and Sarah Austin, A Memoir of the Reverend Sydney Smith. By his Daughter, Lady Holland. With a Selection from his Letters, Vol.I, 1855, p.126
This drawing of Georgiana Russell, a celebrated beauty and wife of John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford, depicts her in a relaxed yet studious pose, with a guitar held gracefully across her figure. She plays from a music book open on the stand before her. The study is striking in its poise and intimacy, a reflection of the closeness of the relationship between the artist, George Hayter, and the family of his patron, the Duke of Bedford, as well as the subject’s familiarity with sitting for well-known painters. As a young teenager, Georgiana had been famously caricatured by James Gillray - who portrayed her as dramatically ‘undressed in the height of the transparent taste of the period’ - in a satirical print showing her playing the popular card game ‘Pope-Joan’ at a glamorous gambling party. [1] Bedford, an enthusiastic collector of contemporary British art, was an important early patron of Hayter’s and instrumental in persuading the young artist to travel to Italy, where he could continue his studies. Hayter left for Rome in 1816, working for a time in Antonio Canova’s studio. [2] The sculptor, evidently impressed by the English painter, nominated Hayter for an honorary membership of the Accademia di San Luca, making him the youngest member in the Academy’s history. Upon his return to England in 1818, Hayter became the Duke’s portraitist of choice, completing dozens of pictures of Russell, his wife and their family.
Georgiana, the daughter of the 4th Duke of Gordon, married Russell in 1803, after the untimely death of his first wife. The couple entertained lavishly at their stately home, Woburn Abbey, cultivating a dazzling circle of artists, politicians and aristocrats including Hayter and the Duchess’s close companion, Edwin Landseer. As was typical for the time, Georgiana often entertained her guests by singing and playing the guitar. [3] She was also said to have been particularly fond of dancing Scottish reels. The writer Sydney Smith, admiring her wit and beauty, described her as ‘full of amusement and sense.’ [4] A further study of the Duchess of Bedford by Hayter, created in 1824 and now held at the Yale Center for British Art, presents a more developed version of the current drawing.
The fashionable, predominantly Whig set to which the Duchess and Hayter belonged was rife with political and social intrigue. This was never more apparent than in Georgiana’s decision to embark on an affair with Landseer, who was unmarried and twenty years her junior. The intimacy of the Duke and Duchess of Bedford with Hayter played an important role in establishing him as one of the leading society artists of the day. One of his most acclaimed history paintings, the Trial of William Lord Russell at the Old Bailey, was completed in 1825 for Woburn Abbey, where it still hangs to this day. The relationship between artist and patron continued until Hayter returned to Italy in 1826. Soon after reaching Florence, Hayter found himself engulfed in scandal when his mistress, Louisa Cauty, took her own life by drinking arsenic. Fleeing Florence for Rome, he remained abroad until 1831. Shortly after his arrival back in London, Hayter’s career experienced a resurgence, most notably after securing the patronage of the young Princess Victoria. Following her accession to the throne, he was named the Queen’s ‘Portrait and Historical Painter’, and was eventually knighted in 1842.
Sir George Hayter
(1792-1871)
Georgiana Russell, Duchess of Bedford (1781-1853)
c.1824
Inscribed lower centre: : "Duchess of Bedford"
Inscribed lower right: "Ds of B"
With artist's estate stamp: "NACHLASS / SIR GEORGE HAYTER"
Pen and ink on paper
20.6 x 17.1 cm
Acquired by a Private Collector, UK
Provenance
Private Collection, UK
References
[1] Thomas Wright, The Works of James Gillray, the Caricaturist, 1873, p.210
[2] In 1817, Hayter painted a portrait of Canova, which is now part of the collection at the Embassy ofthe United Kingdom in Paris
[3] Hayter was a proficient guitarist himself. In 1825, he engraved a portrait of a woman playing a guitarfor the frontispiece of Philippe Verini’s First Rudiments for the Spanish Guitar
[4] Letter from Sydney Smith to Lord Grey, September 1818. Saba Holland and Sarah Austin, A Memoir of the Reverend Sydney Smith. By his Daughter, Lady Holland. With a Selection from his Letters, Vol.I, 1855, p.126
This drawing of Georgiana Russell, a celebrated beauty and wife of John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford, depicts her in a relaxed yet studious pose, with a guitar held gracefully across her figure. She plays from a music book open on the stand before her. The study is striking in its poise and intimacy, a reflection of the closeness of the relationship between the artist, George Hayter, and the family of his patron, the Duke of Bedford, as well as the subject’s familiarity with sitting for well-known painters. As a young teenager, Georgiana had been famously caricatured by James Gillray - who portrayed her as dramatically ‘undressed in the height of the transparent taste of the period’ - in a satirical print showing her playing the popular card game ‘Pope-Joan’ at a glamorous gambling party. [1] Bedford, an enthusiastic collector of contemporary British art, was an important early patron of Hayter’s and instrumental in persuading the young artist to travel to Italy, where he could continue his studies. Hayter left for Rome in 1816, working for a time in Antonio Canova’s studio. [2] The sculptor, evidently impressed by the English painter, nominated Hayter for an honorary membership of the Accademia di San Luca, making him the youngest member in the Academy’s history. Upon his return to England in 1818, Hayter became the Duke’s portraitist of choice, completing dozens of pictures of Russell, his wife and their family.
Georgiana, the daughter of the 4th Duke of Gordon, married Russell in 1803, after the untimely death of his first wife. The couple entertained lavishly at their stately home, Woburn Abbey, cultivating a dazzling circle of artists, politicians and aristocrats including Hayter and the Duchess’s close companion, Edwin Landseer. As was typical for the time, Georgiana often entertained her guests by singing and playing the guitar. [3] She was also said to have been particularly fond of dancing Scottish reels. The writer Sydney Smith, admiring her wit and beauty, described her as ‘full of amusement and sense.’ [4] A further study of the Duchess of Bedford by Hayter, created in 1824 and now held at the Yale Center for British Art, presents a more developed version of the current drawing.
The fashionable, predominantly Whig set to which the Duchess and Hayter belonged was rife with political and social intrigue. This was never more apparent than in Georgiana’s decision to embark on an affair with Landseer, who was unmarried and twenty years her junior. The intimacy of the Duke and Duchess of Bedford with Hayter played an important role in establishing him as one of the leading society artists of the day. One of his most acclaimed history paintings, the Trial of William Lord Russell at the Old Bailey, was completed in 1825 for Woburn Abbey, where it still hangs to this day. The relationship between artist and patron continued until Hayter returned to Italy in 1826. Soon after reaching Florence, Hayter found himself engulfed in scandal when his mistress, Louisa Cauty, took her own life by drinking arsenic. Fleeing Florence for Rome, he remained abroad until 1831. Shortly after his arrival back in London, Hayter’s career experienced a resurgence, most notably after securing the patronage of the young Princess Victoria. Following her accession to the throne, he was named the Queen’s ‘Portrait and Historical Painter’, and was eventually knighted in 1842.