Charles Stuart, Baron Stuart de Rothesay (1779-1845) diplomat

Location

Country: France
City: Paris
Place: British Embassy

This portrait was painted in Paris in July 1830, towards the end of the sitter's second term as British Ambassador to France. He succeeded the Duke of Wellington as Ambassador in 1815 and held the position until 1824, returning again in 1828 to hold the post for two more years. He is shown in the robes of his peerage and wearing the chain of the Knight Grand Cross of the Bath. Among the objects on the table next to him is a map of Spain, alluding to his participation in Wellington's campaign against Napoleon on the Iberian peninsula. This portrait was originally displayed at the Rothesay home, Highcliffe Castle in Hampshire, along with a companion portrait by Hayter showing Rothsay's wife and two daughters. Since entering the Government Art Collection it has been displayed at the official residence of the British Ambassador, the very building which was once occupied by Rothesay.

George Hayter was born in London. He entered the Royal Academy Schools in 1808 and later taught drawing and painting to Princess Charlotte, daughter of the Prince Regent. In 1815 he was made Painter of Miniatures and Portraits to Charlotte and her husband, Prince Leopold. In the next year he travelled to Italy with the support of the Duke of Bedford and entered the Accademia di San Luca as its youngest ever member. Although Hayter returned to London in 1818, he moved back to Italy in 1826 and was in Paris from 1828 to 1831. Hayter settled in England in the early 1830s, was appointed Principal Painter-in-Ordinary to Queen Victoria in 1841 and knighted the following year. Despite his successes, he was never admitted to the Royal Academy.

People

Charles, Baron Stuart de Rothesay Stuart (1779 - 1845)

Places

Subjects

quill, ink pot/ink stand, paper (as Subject), book, map (as Subject), male portrait, man, 19th century costume, ceremonial costume, robe, stockings, breeches, fur, ribbon (as Subject - costume accessory), livery collar, badge, Order of the Bath, Baron, diplomat, Ambassador to St Petersburg, Ambassador to Paris, sword, armchair, table cloth, desk

Materials & Techniques

canvas, oil, oil painting

Artist

Sir George Hayter (1792 - 1871)

Title

Charles Stuart, Baron Stuart de Rothesay (1779-1845) diplomat

Date

1830

Medium

Oil on canvas

Dimensions

height: 129.50 cm, width: 111.70 cm

Acquisition

Purchased from Christopher J Robinson, February 1998

Inscription

CL on scroll: George Hayter pinxit / 21 Juillet Paris 1830

Provenance

Commissioned by Lord Stuart de Rothesay (1779-1845); by descent to watercolour painter and philanthropist Louisa Anne Beresford (née Stuart), Marchioness of Waterford (1818-1891); by descent to army officer Edward James Montagu-Stuart-Wortley (1857-1934); by descent to 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 5 July 1949, ‘Contents of Highcliffe Castle’ sale (Lot 757), for 27.6.0; from which sale purchased by ‘Hart’; by whom (perhaps via ‘T. Rogers’) sold through Christie's, London, on 7 October 1949 (Lot 136), for £10.10.0; from which sale purchased by ‘Welch’; collection of Essex House Hotel, New York City; with Christopher J. Robinson, New York; from whom purchased by the Government Art Collection on 6 February 1998

GAC number

17304