The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of April 25, 2024
George Clavering Cowper, 3rd Earl Cowper
1785
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Pastel portraiture, which became fashionable in the 18th century, was prized for its powdery, matte surface, which created a fresco-like quality when placed in small rooms lit by candlelight.Description
This pastel portrait of George Clavering Cowper, 3rd Earl Cowper (1738–1789), was made in Florence, the earl’s permanent home, by the most celebrated Irish portraitist of the Grand Tour. Cowper prominently wears the sash and star of the Order of St. Hubertus, a knightly order of aristocratic hunters to which he was inducted in March 1785. It seems likely that the bucolic scene was commissioned to commemorate the honor. Cowper’s hunting dog receives a tender pat on the head and wears a bold shining metal collar inscribed with Cowper’s name.- George Clavering Cowper, 3rd Earl CowperGeorge Clavering Cowper, 4th Earl CowperPeter Clavering Cowper, 5th Earl CowperGeorge Cowper, 6th Earl CowperFrancis Cowper, 7th Earl CowperKatrina Cowper, Countess CowperEthel, Lady DesboroughThe Honorable Monica Grenfell, later Lady SalmondRosemary Salmond, later Lady RavensdalePrivate Collection, by descent?-2022(Lowell Libson & Jonny Yarker Ltd., British Art, London, England), sold to The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
- Williamson, George C. Daniel Gardner, Painter in Pastel and Gouache; A Brief Account of His Life and Works. London: John Lane, 1921. p. 94 (reproduced)Jeffares, Neil. Dictionary of pastellists before 1800. London: Unicorn Press, 2006. cat. No. J.375.1225Sheail, Philip, ed. “The Third Earl Cowper and his Florentine Household 1760-90,” Hertfordshire Record Society, vol. 36, 2020. p. 48 (reproduced)
- {{cite web|title=George Clavering Cowper, 3rd Earl Cowper|url=false|author=Hugh Douglas Hamilton|year=1785|access-date=25 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2022.136