Nathaniel Hone, Portrait of a Woman, Probably a Countess, 1760

Chicago:

Aimee Marcereau DeGalan, “Nathaniel Hone, Portrait of a Woman, Probably a Countess, 1760,” catalogue entry in Aimee Marcereau DeGalan, Blythe Sobol, and Maggie Keenan, The Starr Collection of Portrait Miniatures, 1500–1850: The Collections of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, vol. 3, ed. Aimee Marcereau DeGalan (Kansas City: Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 2024), https://doi.org/10.37764/8322.5.1430.

MLA:

Marcereau DeGalan, Aimee. “Nathaniel Hone, Portrait of a Woman, Probably a Countess, 1760,” catalogue entry. Aimee Marcereau DeGalan, Blythe Sobol, and Maggie Keenan. The Starr Collection of Portrait Miniatures, 1500–1850: The Collections of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, edited by Aimee Marcereau DeGalan, vol. 3, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 2024. doi: 10.37764/8322.5.1430

See the artist’s biography in volume 4.

This subtle portrait of an unknown woman dates from Nathaniel Hone’s time in London, following a brief Italian sojourn. Painted in 1760, it coincides with his membership in the Royal Society of Arts, where he exhibited from 1760 until the formation of the Royal Academy of the Arts in 1768. This period marked a prosperous chapter in the artist’s career, boasting an impressive clientele that included renowned figures like the Irish beauty Elizabeth Gunning, Duchess of Hamilton and Argyll, and the infamous courtesan Kitty Fisher.¹ While the present sitter may not have enjoyed the same level of notoriety, someone felt she was very special in commissioning not only this portrait but also its original case surround.

The portrait presents the sitter in nearly full-frontal view, with her head turned slightly to her right. Her striking limpid blue eyes engage the viewer, as does her dark hair slicked up off her face and set against a delicate ivory complexion enhanced with a subtle peach blush on her cheeks.² Toned lips complement her appearance. She wears a low-cut blue and white lace dress with a gauzy white lace-trimmed fichu that crosses in front of her décolletage for modesty. A multistrand pearl choker encircles her neck, and large pearl drop earrings hang from her ears—and these are not the only jewels in the miniature. Hone’s naturalistic approach to painting miniature portraits owed much to William Hogarth (1697–1764) and Thomas Hudson (1701–1779). These early miniatures anticipate his later development as an oil painter and portraitist.

The case surround is set with red stones suggesting rubies encircling its exterior. Symbols of love, rubies held special significance when incorporated into portrait miniatures.³ Originally set as a bracelet clasp and later converted into a locket, this miniature case is undoubtedly original and was intended to be worn. The process of mounting miniatures could be handled either independently by the sitter or, as perhaps in this case, by Hone himself. Given his ties to goldsmithing, Hone was well-equipped to furnish or at least advise on such services.⁴ Indeed, an entry from May 4, 1752, in his account book notes: “Setting for Duchess of Hamilton in her box porphyry stone 1 gn [guinea],” signifying his role in both painting and mounting.⁵ It is tempting to suggest the same arrangements were carried out by Hone here.

Of particular significance is the miniature case back (Fig. 1), which includes a coronet (crown) featuring five points, revealing that the sitter holds the rank of a countess.⁶ This detail offers an additional clue to her identity and social station, especially when her name remains unknown.

Notes

1. As communicated to the author by Stephen Lloyd during his visit October 2023; notes in NAMA curatorial files.

2. There are strange green highlights that appear in the sitter’s face and background that are perhaps a result of a chemical change in the paint. Further technical analysis is required.

3. In general, rubies are equated with love; see Patricia Fumerton, “‘Secret’ Arts: Elizabethan Miniatures and Sonnets,” Representations, no. 15 (1986): 63, 80.

4. For more on Hone’s goldsmithing background, see Nicola Figgis, “Nathaniel Hone,” Dictionary of Irish Biography, October 2009, https://doi.org/10.3318/dib.004084.v1.

5. Nathaniel Hone’s pocket journal, Add. ms 44024, British Library, London, cited in Marcia Pointon, “‘Surrounded with Brilliants’: Miniature Portraits in Eighteenth-Century England,” Art Bulletin 83, no. 1 (2001): 56n32.

6. Cyril Davenport, The English Regalia (London: K. Paul Trench Trübner, 1897), 354.

Unknown owner, by 1949;

Purchased from the unknown owner’s sale, Fine Sicilian Jewellery, Objects of Vertu, Fine Portrait Miniatures, Sotheby’s, London, October 27, 1949, lot 118, as A Lady, by Leggatt Brothers, London, probably on behalf of Mr. John W. (1905–2000) and Mrs. Martha Jane (1906–2011) Starr, Kansas City, MO, 1949–1958 [1];

Their gift to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1958.

Notes

[1] According to the sales catalogue, “Other Properties” sold lots 70–126. Described in the catalogue as “A Miniature of a Lady, by Nathaniel Hone, signed and dated 1760, nearly full-face in white pearl-bordered dress, wearing pearl ear-rings and necklace, the back of the garnet-bordered frame engraved with a crowned cypher “AT”, 1 1/2 in.; a Miniature of a Man, by Richard Crosse, head and gaze three-quarters dexter, in blue coat, 1 3/8 in.; and another larger decorative Miniature of a Lady, 2 1/2 in.” The second part of lot 118 likely describes another miniature in the Starr Collection: Richard Crosse, Portrait of a Man, ca. 1765, F58-60/26.

The sales catalogue is located at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, Miller Nichols Library and is likely annotated by Mr. or Mrs. Starr with a circled lot number, a checkmark, “Leggatt,” and “15.” According to the attached price list, Leggatt Brothers bought lot 118 for 15 pounds. Archival research has shown that Leggatt Brothers served as purchasing agents for the Starrs. See correspondence between Betty Hogg and Martha Jane Starr, May 15 and June 3, 1950, Nelson-Atkins curatorial files.

The Starr Foundation Collection of Miniatures, The Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, December 8, 1972–January 14, 1973, no cat., no. 42, as Unknown Lady.

Catalogue of Fine Sicilian Jewellery, Objects of Vertu, Fine Portrait Miniatures (London: Sotheby’s, October 27, 1949), lot 118, as A Lady.

Ross E. Taggart, The Starr Collection of Miniatures in the William Rockhill Nelson Gallery (Kansas City, MO: Nelson Gallery-Atkins Museum, 1971), no. 42, p. 19, (repro.), as Unknown Lady.