Queen Victoria (1819-1901) Reigned 1837-1901, on Horseback

Location

Country: UK
City: London
Place: Government Hospitality, Lancaster House

Alfred, Count d’Orsay, dandy and amateur artist, was born in Paris, the son of one of Napoleon’s generals. He met Lord and Lady Blessington in 1822 and was romantically interested in Lady Blessington. Perhaps to divert D’Orsay’s attention from his wife, Lord Blessington wrote a will leaving his Irish property to one of his daughters, should either marry Count D’Orsay. D’Orsay chose 15 year old Lady Harriet Anne Gardiner and the couple married in Naples in 1827. It was not a happy union. Following the death of Lord Blessington and the breakdown of the Count’s marriage, D’Orsay and Lady Blessington became a prominent couple in fashionable society. D’Orsay died in Paris in 1852, having fled there with Lady Blessington to escape his debts.

Places

Subjects

Materials & Techniques

canvas, oil, oil painting

Artist

Alfred, Count d' Orsay (1801 - 1852)

Title

Queen Victoria (1819-1901) Reigned 1837-1901, on Horseback

Date

1846

Medium

Oil on canvas

Dimensions

height: 320.00 cm, width: 251.50 cm

Acquisition

Transferred from the Ministry of Defence, April 2017

Inscription

Sdbl

Provenance

Presented to Old War Office by Lord Derby

GAC number

3455