Sir Edward Wortley Montagu (1678-1761) politician and diplomat; Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire 1716-18

Location

Country: Turkey
City: Ankara
Place: British Embassy

Edward Wortley Montagu was appointed the British Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire in 1716 with a mission to negotiate a peace treaty between the Habsburg monarchy in Austria and the Ottoman Empire. He occupied this post for two years, before being recalled to Britain in 1718. His reputation remains overshadowed by that of his wife, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, a well-known figure in society who spent much of her later years travelling in France and Italy without her husband. She is known for her literary works, and for her pioneering advocacy of inoculation against smallpox. 

Edward met Mary through his sister Anne, but was rejected as a suitor for her by her father. They eloped in 1712 and married at Salisbury, spending the first years of their marriage in the country, before entering society in London in early 1715, following the accession of George I. Edward pursued a career in politics and was the Member of Parliament for Huntington from 1705 to 1713. 

After being recalled to Britain in 1718, Edward purchased houses in the fashionable areas of Covent Garden and Twickenham, resumed his political activities, and pursued his business interests in Yorkshire. He became Member of Parliament for Huntington again, and later represented Peterborough (1734 to 1747 and 1754 to 1761). 

John Vanderbank, portraitist, history painter and illustrator, was born in London, the son of a tapestry weaver of the same name. From 1711, he studied at Kneller's Academy and, in 1720, established an academy of his own with French painter Louis Cheron, in St. Martin's Lane. The academy closed after May 1724, when Vanderbank fled to France to avoid imprisonment for debts. He studiously copied the work of Rubens and Van Dyck and was considered a gifted portraitist. However, he ruined a promising career through intemperate living. From 1724 to 1729 he was repeatedly in debt and detained in Fleet prison. His chief book illustrations were 68 plates for ‘Don Quixote’ (1738). He died of at his home in Holles Street aged 45, leaving a wife, Anne.

People

Sir Edward Wortley Montagu (1678 - 1761)

Places

Subjects

male portrait, man, 18th century costume, coat, wig, cravat, Member of Parliament, diplomat, Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, table (as Subject)

Materials & Techniques

canvas, oil, oil painting

Artist

John Vanderbank (1694 - 1739)

Title

Sir Edward Wortley Montagu (1678-1761) politician and diplomat; Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire 1716-18

Date

1730

Medium

Oil on canvas

Dimensions

height: 124.00 cm, width: 99.00 cm

Acquisition

Purchased from Christie's, 5 July 1949

Inscription

bl: Edward Wortley Montague / Ambassador at Constantinople / 1730

Provenance

Collection of Montagu Henry Edmund Cecil Towneley-Bertie, 13th Earl of Lindsey and 8th Earl of Abingdon (1887-1963) and Elizabeth Valetta Towneley-Bertie, Countess of Abingdon, of Highcliffe Castle, Dorset; by whom sold through Christie’s, London, on 7 July 1949, ‘Contents of Highcliffe Castle’ sale (Lot 803), as ‘attributed to Vanmour’; from which sale purchased by ‘Walker’ (Richard Walker) on behalf of the Ministry of Works

GAC number

802