The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of September 25, 2023

Portrait of Mary Anne Jolliffe

after 1788

Gainsborough Dupont

(British, 1754–1797)

England, 18th century

Oil on canvas

Unframed: 75.5 x 63.5 cm (29 3/4 x 25 in.)

Bequest of John L. Severance 1942.640

Location

not on view

Fun Fact

Gainsborough Dupont was the only assistant that his famous uncle Thomas Gainsborough ever took.

Description

The only assistant his famous uncle ever had, Gainsborough Dupont apprenticed with Thomas Gainsborough before setting up his own studio. It is often difficult to distinguish the late works of both artists. This painting is among Dupont’s best portraits. He captures the beauty of his sitter with soft, flickering brushstrokes, detailing her frilly collar and impressive hairstyle, curled and powdered according to the current style. This portrait originally hung alongside that of her husband Thomas in the drawing room of the couple’s home, Ammerdown House in Somerset, where Thomas’s portrait still hangs today.

Provenance
after 1788-1824
the sitter, Mary Anne Jolliffe, née Twyford [1756-1802], and Thomas Samuel Jolliffe [1746-1824], Ammerdown House, Somerset, by descent to William Jolliffe
William Jolliffe, Esq., Ammerdown House, Somerset, by descent to Lord Hylton
?-1911
Lord Hylton, Ammerdown Park, Somerset, sold to A.G. Temple
Mr. A.G. Temple
by 1912
(Arthur J. Sulley, London)
1912-?
(M. Knoedler & Co., New York, sold to John L. Severance) 1
?-1936
John L. Severance [1863-1936], Cleveland, OH, by bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art 2
1942-
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Provenance Footnotes

1 Knoedler purchased the painting from Arthur J. Sulley on April 30, 1912 for $90,000
2 John L. Severance purchased the painting from Knoedler for $115,000
Citations
Belsey, Hugh. Thomas Gainsborough: The Portraits, Fancy Pictures and Copies After Old Masters. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2019. p. 1014-15.
Description of the Mansion, Marbles, and Pictures, at Ammerdown, in Somersetshire. London, United Kingdom: Saunders and Otley, 1857.
Gainsborough, Thomas. A Portrait of Lady Hylton by Thomas Gainsborough, 1727-1788. London, United Kingdom: M. Knoedler & Co.
Milliken, William M. "The Twentieth-Anniversary Exhibition of The Cleveland Museum of Art." Art News, XXXIV (June 1936): 6-14. Reproduced: p. 14
Catalogue of the John L. Severance Collection: Bequest of John L. Severance, 1936. [Cleveland, Ohio]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1942. Reproduced: p. [17], Plate V, cat. no. 6; Mention: p. 21, cat. no. 6 archive.org
Francis, Henry S. "Bequest of John L. Severance, 1936". The Bulletin of The Cleveland Museum of Art XXIX, no. 11 (November, 1942):132-136. Reproduced: p. 136
Comstock, Helen. "The John L. Severance Collection at Cleveland." Connoisseur, CXI (1943): 61. Reproduced: p. 61
Waterhouse, Ellis K. "Preliminary Check List of Portraits by Thomas Gainsborough." The Walpole Society, XXXIII (1948-1950): 63. Reproduced: p. 63
Coe, Nancy. The History of the Collecting of European Paintings and Drawings in the City of Cleveland. Oberlin, OH, Department of Fine Arts, Oberlin College. 1955. Reproduced: p. 232, vol. II, no. 6
The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 473 archive.org
Waterhouse, Ellis Kirkham. Gainsborough. London, United Kingdom: E. Hulton, 1958. Reproduced: p. 76, no. 405
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 154 archive.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 154 archive.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Catalogue of Paintings, Part 3: European Paintings of the 16th, 17th, and 18th Centuries. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1982. Reproduced: p. 186; Mentioned: p. 187
Dorment, Richard. British Painting in the Philadelphia Museum of Art: From the Seventeenth Through the Nineteenth Century. Philadelphia, PA: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1986. Reproduced: p. 135, fig. 34-1
Exhibition history

Exhibition of Paintings by Thomas Gainsborough, R.A., and J. M. W Turner. R.A., M. Knoedler & Co., New York, NY (January 14 - January 31, 1914).

Twentieth Anniversary Exhibition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1936).

Exhibition of the John L. Severance Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (November 12, 1942-March 14, 1943).

Style, Truth and the Portrait. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (October 1-November 19, 1963).

British Gallery Reinstallation (June 2020). The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1942.640