Lot 28
ALLAN RAMSAY (SCOTTISH 1713-1784)
PORTRAIT OF ANNE LEIGHTON
The Classic Tradition : European Art from 15th to 19th Centuries | 586
Auction: 30 October 2019 at 13:00 GMT
Description
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
127cm x 101.4cm (50in x 40in)
Footnote
Provenence: Property of Lord Harlech, Glyn Cywarch House; Bonhams, 29th March 2017, Lot 422, where purchased by the present owner.
Literature: J. Steegman, A Survey of Portraits in Welsh Houses, Cardiff, 1957, vol. I, p. 72, no. 22 (under Portraits formerly at Brogyntyn); Smart, Allan Ramsay, A Complete Catalogue of his Paintings, New Haven and London, 1999, p. 146, cat. no. 316, ill., fig 436.
Note: Ann Leighton was the daughter of Sir Edward Leighton, 1st Bt. of Wattleborough, Salop, by his first wife. A secondary 'largely autograph' version of this composition is listed in Smart's Allan Ramsay, A Complete Catalogue of his Paintings under cat. no. 316a. Another portrait of her c.1750 is published under cat. no. 313.
Following purchase from Bonhams the painting underwent a full conservation programme including lining. During this process the restorer noted a significant “pentimento” in the hair of the sitter, indicating that Ramsay had originally painted a tiara on the sitter's head before changing the final composition. Further evidence that this painting is the original version and not a studio piece.