Sir Thomas Lawrence P.R.A. (1769-1830) Portrait of Maria Margaretta (née Murray)

Sir Thomas Lawrence P.R.A. (1769-1830)

Portrait of Maria Margaretta (née Murray), Lady Talbot De Malahide

Oil on canvas in a period Maratta frame

76.2 x 63.5 cm; 30 x 25in

Provenance:

By descent in the family of the sitter

Private collection, England.

This recently rediscovered portrait of the famous heiress Maria Margaretta Murray, is a significant addition to Lawrence's oeuvre, and dates from the late 1820'. We are grateful to Professor Brian Allen for confirming the attribution to Sir Thomas Lawrence following his first hand inspection of the painting.

Maria Margaretta Murray (d. 1873) was the youngest daughter of Patrick Murray, a landowner in Forfarshire (Scotland), and the heir to his vast estate of some 2,600 acres. In 1842 she married James, 4th Baron Talbot de Malahide (1805-1883), by whom she had seven children. The Talbots were one of the oldest families in Ireland (having been granted land as early as 1184), where they resided until the sale of Malahide Castle in 1976.