William Robinson (1799-1839)

William Robinson (1799-1839)
Portrait of William Willoughby Cole, 3rd Earl of Enniskillen (1807-1886), half-length, wearing a fur-lined black coat
Oil on canvas
75.9 x 63.5cm; 30 x 25in

Provenance:
English Private Collection

Exhibited:
London, Royal Academy. 1828, no.510

Another smaller version of the present work, painted by William Robinson on panel, is in the collection of Florence Court in Northern Ireland, the family seat of the Earls of Enniskillen. However, our version is so superior in quality to the Florence Court painting, that it raises the question as to whether Robinson received assistance from his former master Sir Thomas Lawrence. Robinson was an assistant in Lawrence's studio in the 1820s, and retained a London address at 132 Jermyn Street not far from Lawrence's studio. This is probably one of the best portraits Robinson ever painted, containing much of the flair and character of Lawrence, that is missing his other paintings, including the Florence Court version.

The present work was painted c.1827-28 and exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1828. Presumably, the portrait was commissioned to celebrate the sitter's 21st birthday in January of that year. There was a large party at Florence Court and an illumination at Enniskillen, and it seems plausible that the unveiling of the present work was part of the celebrations. Robinson also painted other members of the family, which hang at Florence Court as well, and some have identical frames and similar labels to the present work. William Willoughby Cole, later the 3rd Earl of Enniskillen, would go onto become a Member of Parliament and a renowned palaeontologist. He assembled a fine collection of nearly 10,000 fossils at Florence Court, which he would eventually sell to the newly founded Natural History Museum.