Printed from Woolley & Wallis

Description

François Hubert Drouais (French 1727-1775)

Portrait of Lady Amelia Darcy (1754-1784), later 9th Baroness Conyers and wife of Francis Godolphin Osborne, Marquess of Carmarthen, the 5th Duke of Leeds

Half length, standing, wearing a blue silk dress with white lace sleeves, holding a basket of flowers

Inscribed: peint a paris par Drouais en avril 1764

Oil on canvas, oval in a fine period carved wood frame

71 x 58.5cm; 28 x 23in

Provenance:

Amelia Darcy 9th Baroness Conyers

George William Frederick Osborne 6th Duke of Leeds 10th Lord Conyers (1775-1838)

Francis Godolphin Darcy-Osborne 7th Duke of Leeds 11th Lord Conyers (1798-1859)

Sackville George Lane-Fox 12th Lord Conyers (1827-1888)

Marcia Amelia Mary Lane-Fox 13th Baroness Conyers (1863-1926)

Sackville George Pelham 5th Earl of Yarborough 14th Lord Conyers (1888-1948)

Lady Diana Mary Miller née Pelham (1920-2013)

This compelling portrait of Amelia Darcy was painted when she was just 10 years old and depicts a confident child who was born into a privileged family background. She was an only child, her two older brothers having died in infancy and this portrait, painted by one of the most fashionable portraitists in Paris, reflects her cherished status to her parents. Her father, Robert Darcy, 4th Earl of Holderness, was a successful diplomat but after the accession of George III to the throne was dismissed from his post as Secretary of State. In recompense he received a handsome pension of £4,000 a year and was able to set about improving his estates, which included Hornby Castle and Aston Hall in Yorkshire and Sion Hill in Middlesex.

The portrait was commissioned in Paris in 1764 and by this time the highly acclaimed Drouais was at the height of his powers. An assiduous artist, he quickly became a favourite of Louis XV and his family. As a result the French nobility and ruling class, as well as Parisian society jostled to sit for him. Amongst his sitters were Louis XV, Marie-Antoinette, The Comte de Provence (later Louis XVIII) Madame du Barry, Madame de Pompadour and numerous others. Commissioning a portrait from Drouais would certainly not have been straightforward and is a reflection of the influence that Holderness still wielded.

In 1773, aged 19, Amelia married Francis Godolphin Osborne (1751-1799) who later became 5th Duke of Leeds. Amelia then became the Marchioness of Carmarthen and after the death of her father in 1778 she also inherited the titles Baroness Darcy de Knayth and Baroness Conyers, as well as Countess of Mertola (Portugal).

Francis and Amelia had three children between 1775 and 1777, George later 6th Duke of Leeds, Francis and Mary Henrietta. However, just 7 months after her father's death, Amelia eloped with Captain John "Mad Jack" Byron. A divorce quickly ensued and Amelia married Captain Byron just one month after it was finalised in June 1779.

Amelia and her new husband eventually set up home in Paris where she gave birth to three more children. The first two children died in infancy but their third child, Augusta Maria was born in January 1783 making her the sixth child Amelia had borne in eight years. Amelia's short but eventful life ended just twelve months later when she died aged 29, probably from tuberculosis. Captain Byron subsequently married Catherine Gordon in London in 1785, returning immediately to Paris to escape his debtors. In 1788 they had a son, George, later the poet Lord Byron.