The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of April 17, 2024
Portrait of George Pitt, First Baron Rivers
1769
(British, 1727–1788)
Framed: 261 x 181 x 9 cm (102 3/4 x 71 1/4 x 3 9/16 in.); Unframed: 234.3 x 154.3 cm (92 1/4 x 60 3/4 in.)
Did You Know?
Gainsborough was famous for his portraits, but he especially loved painting landscapes.Description
Although George Pitt reputedly led a life of debauchery and was a cruel husband, Thomas Gainsborough’s portrait endows him with an aura of dignity and refinement. This work was painted between Pitt’s appointments as ambassador to Turin, Italy, and Madrid, Spain, but he is very much the English gentleman at home on his country estate. Gainsborough balances the deep scarlet and green facing of Pitt’s military uniform with the cool, woodland landscape painted with wide, liquid brushstrokes of mauves, grays, and silvers.- 1769-1803George Pitt, First Lord Rivers [1721-1803], Stratfield Saye House, Hampshire, by descent to his grandson, William Horace Pitt-Rivers, 3rd Lord Rivers1803-1831William Horace Pitt-Rivers, 3rd Lord Rivers [1777-1831], Rushmore, Dorset, by descent to Horace, 6th Lord Rivers1831-1880Horace, 6th Lord Rivers [1814-1880], by descent to his cousin, Augustus Henry Lane Fox Pitt1880-1900Augustus Henry Lane Fox Pitt [1827-1900], by descent to his grandson George Henry Lane-Fox-Pitt-Rivers1900-1966George Henry Lane-Fox-Pitt-Rivers [1890-1966], Hinton St. Mary, Dorset, passed to his common-law wife Stella1966-1970Stella Pitt-Rivers, sold to E.V. Thaw1970-1971(E. V. Thaw, New York, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)1971-The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OHProvenance Footnotes1 Augustus Henry Lane Fox Pitt was the second son of Marcia Lucy [died 1822], the youngest sister of George, 2nd Lord Rivers.2 Stella was the common-law wife of George Henry Lane-Fox-Pitt-Rivers, and later married M. Robert Maumen
- Belsey, Hugh. Thomas Gainsborough: The Portraits, Fancy Pictures and Copies After Old Masters. New Haven, CT. Yale University Press, 2019. p. 712-714.Brock-Arnold, George M. Gainsborough. London, United Kingdom: S. Low, Marston, Searle, & Rivington, 1889. p. 31Monkhouse, Cosmo. "Thomas Gainsborough." In Dictionary of National Biography. Leslie Stephen, ed., 361-367. New York: Macmillan, 1885. Mentioned: Vol. XX, P. 363Armstrong, Walter. Gainsborough and His Place in English Art. New York, NY: C. Scribner's Sons, 1898. Reproduced: p. 110-111, vol. I; Mentioned: p. 117, 201, vol. IIGower, Ronald Sutherland, Lord. Thomas Gainsborough. [with Illustrations.]. London: George Bell & Sons, 1903. Mentioned: P. 53 hdl.handle.netArmstrong, Walter. Gainsborough and His Place in English Art: With 48 Plates. London: Heinemann, 1904. Mentioned: P. 116, 147, 155, 277 hdl.handle.netGraves, Algernon. The Royal Academy of Arts; A Complete Dictionary of Contributors and Their Work from Its Foundation in 1769 to 1904. London, United Kingdom: H. Graves and Co, 1905. Reproduced: p. 191, vol IIIBoulton, William Biggs. Thomas Gainsborough: His Life, Work, Friends, and Sitters ... With Forty Illustrations. Methuen & Co: London, 1905. Mentioned: P. 165 hdl.handle.netMenpes, Mortimer, and James Greig. Gainsborough. London, United Kingdom: A. and C. Black, 1909. Reproduced: p. 79-80Graves, Algernon. Century of Loan Exhibitions 1813-1912. London, United Kingdom: Graves, 1913. Reproduced: p. 384, vol. IWhitley, William T. Artists and Their Friends in England, 1700-1799. London, United Kingdom & Boston, MA: Medici Society, 1928. Reproduced: p. 378Waterhouse, Ellis K. "Preliminary Check List of Portraits by Thomas Gainsborough." The Walpole Society, XXXIII (1948-50). Reproduced: P. 91Waterhouse, E. K. "The Exhibition 'The First Hundred Years of The Royal Academy'." The Burlington Magazine 94, no. 587 (1952): 48-54. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 51, fig. 17 www.jstor.orgWaterhouse, Ellis Kirkham. Gainsborough. London], United Kingdom: E. Hulton, 1958. Reproduced: p. 21, no. 577, pl. 110Talbot, William S. "Thomas Gainsborough, George Pitt, First Lord Rivers."
The Bulletin of The Cleveland Museum of Art LVIII no. 11 (November, 1971): 258-268. Reproduced: cover, p. 257, and details; fig. 1,7,8Cleveland Museum of Art, “Recent Acquisition Press Release,” May 12, 1971, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives. archive.orgWaterhouse, Ellis. “Bath and Gainsborough.” Apollo: The International Magazine of Art & Antiques 98 (November 1973): 360–65. Mentioned: P. 365; reproduced: P. 363, fig. IIThe Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 193 archive.orgThe 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. Mentioned: p. 189-191; Reproduced: p. 190Fliegel, Stephen N. Arms and Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1998. Reproduced: p. 124Sloman, Susan. Gainsborough in Bath. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2002. Reproduced: p. 49, fig. 58Maggio Serra, Rosanna. Vittorio Alfieri: aristocratico ribelle (1749-1803) : [Torino, Archivio di Stato, 5 ottobre 2003-11 gennaio 2004]. Milano, Italy: Electa, 2003. Reproduced: p. 134Wiles, Stephanie, "British Invasion", Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine. Vol. 46 no. 04, April 2006 Mentioned & reproduced: p. 8-9 archive.orgFliegel, Stephen N. Arms & Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2007. Reproduced: p. 142Hamilton, James. Gainsborough: A Portrait. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2017. Mentioned: p. 245Belsey, Hugh. Thomas Gainsborough: The Portraits, Fancy Pictures and Copies After Old Masters. New Haven : Published for the Paul mellon Centre for Studies in British Art by Yale University Press, 2019. Reproduced and mentioned: pp. 1, 4, 12, 278, 548, 712-714, cat. 770Provenance Footnotes1 Augustus Henry Lane Fox Pitt was the second son of Marcia Lucy [died 1822], the youngest sister of George, 2nd Lord Rivers.2 Stella was the common-law wife of George Henry Lane-Fox-Pitt-Rivers, and later married M. Robert Maumen - British Gallery Reinstallation (June 2020). The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer).CMA @ Oberlin (second rotation). Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (April 3-June 5, 2006).Vittorio Alfieri: Aristocratico Ribelle (1749-1803). Turin State Archives, Torino, Italy (October 8, 2003-January 12, 2004).Year in Review: 1971. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 28, 1971-February 6, 1972).Royal Academy, London, United Kingdom (1769).Works by Old Masters (Winter Exhibition).Royal Academy, London, United Kingdom (1881).The First Hundred Years of the Royal Academy (Winter Exhibition) Royal Academy, London, United Kingdom (1951-1952).Provenance Footnotes1 Augustus Henry Lane Fox Pitt was the second son of Marcia Lucy [died 1822], the youngest sister of George, 2nd Lord Rivers.2 Stella was the common-law wife of George Henry Lane-Fox-Pitt-Rivers, and later married M. Robert Maumen
- {{cite web|title=Portrait of George Pitt, First Baron Rivers|url=false|author=Thomas Gainsborough|year=1769|access-date=17 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}Provenance Footnotes1 Augustus Henry Lane Fox Pitt was the second son of Marcia Lucy [died 1822], the youngest sister of George, 2nd Lord Rivers.2 Stella was the common-law wife of George Henry Lane-Fox-Pitt-Rivers, and later married M. Robert Maumen
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1971.2