The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 25, 2024

Portrait of the Hon. Anne Annesley, later Countess of Mountnorris

Portrait of the Hon. Anne Annesley, later Countess of Mountnorris

c. 1800
(British, 1742–1821)
England, 19th century
watercolor on ivory in a gold frame
Framed: 9 x 7.3 cm (3 9/16 x 2 7/8 in.); Unframed: 8.3 x 6.4 cm (3 1/4 x 2 1/2 in.)
The Edward B. Greene Collection 1942.1138
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

Another version of this portrait is nearly identical to the Cleveland miniature and was likely for another friend or member of Anne's family.

Description

Anne Annesley (née Courtenay, 1774–1835) was the eighth daughter of William 2nd Viscount Courtenay, and sister of William 3rd Viscount Courtenay, who commissioned numerous paintings of himself and his six sisters from Richard Cosway in oil and miniature. William’s expenditure for these works between 1790 and 1812 reached £1,370, a bill that wasn’t paid in full until 1820. Anne married George Annesley, later 2nd Earl of Mountnorris, in September 1790. Cosway, who frequently depicted female sitters in gauzy white gowns, lavished attention on Anne’s attire. Her pale yellow coat is lined with fur that is sensitively delineated with a combination of short brushstrokes distinct from those that form her dark, wavy hair. Fur-trimmed jackets like this one would probably have been worn indoors by women during the colder months.
  • Before 1929
    C. W. F. Baker-Courtenay, Cumberland, England
    November 1929
    (Sale: Christie's London, Nov. 1929).
    -1929
    (Leo Schidlof (1886-1966), Paris, France, sold to Edward B. Greene).
    After 1929-1942
    Edward B. Greene (1878-1957), Cleveland, OH, gifted to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1942-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Williamson, George C. Richard Cosway, R.A., and His Wife and Pupils: Miniaturists of the Eighteenth Century. London: George Bell & Sons, 1897. facing p. 2
    Cleveland Museum of Art. Portrait Miniatures ; The Edward B. Greene Collection. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1951. Mentioned: p. 26, no. 9; Reproduced: pl. XVII archive.org
    Cleveland Museum of Art, and Alan Chong. European & American Painting in the Cleveland Museum of Art: A Summary Catalogue. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1993. p. 282
    Korkow, Cory, and Dario Robleto. Disembodied: Portrait Miniatures and Their Contemporary Relatives. 2013. Mentioned: p.86
    Korkow, Cory, and Jon L. Seydl. British Portrait Miniatures: The Cleveland Museum of Art. 2013. Cat. no. 66, pp. 252-254
  • Disembodied: Portrait Minatures and their Contemporary Relatives. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 10, 2013-February 16, 2014).
    Main Gallery Rotation (Gallery 202), The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (January 5, 2009 - April 6, 2009).
    Intimate Images: Portrait Miniatures from Europe and America. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 26-October 17, 1993).
  • {{cite web|title=Portrait of the Hon. Anne Annesley, later Countess of Mountnorris|url=false|author=Richard Cosway|year=c. 1800|access-date=25 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1942.1138