Angelica Kauffman RA (Swiss, 1740-1807)

Angelica Kauffman RA (Swiss, 1740-1807) Angelica Kauffman RA (Swiss, 1740-1807) Portrait of Louise Henrietta Campbell (1772-1829), seated full-length, in a white dress holding a pencil and drawing oil on canvas 75.5 x 63cm Provenance: probably until 1948 Rockcliffe Hall, Darlington, collection of Lord Southampton (see Manners/Williamson); Anon. sale, Sotheby's, London 15 November 1989, lot 40; Anon. sale, Sotheby's, London, 1 January 1995, lot 22; Anon. sale, Sotheby's, London, 28 November 2002, lot 167. Literature: Lady Victoria Manners and Dr G C Williamson, 'Angelica Kauffman, R.A.', 1824, p. 210. Lady Louise Henrietta Campbell was married to James Scarlett (1769-1844). They were introduced through her brother, Peter Campbell, who studied with Scarlett at Trinity College, Cambridge. Scarlett was a fierce barrister, a leader of the Inner Temple and served as a Member of Parliament. In 1834, after time in office as Attorney General, he became Chief Baron of the Exchequer and was made a peer the following year; he was the first Baron Abinger. The couple had five children and appear to have lived happily together. Scarlett’s memoir eulogised Lady Louise Henrietta, and an excerpt reads, ‘I lived with her in uninterrupted comfort and happiness from the time of our marriage to the month of March 1829 and have lived ever since to lament her loss’ (Scarlett, 1877). While traditionally identified as a portrait of Louise Henrietta Campbell, Dr Bettina Baumgärtel notes that Campbell didn't marry James Scarlett until 1792. The portrait type is typical of Kauffman‘s 1770s paintings executed in London. The prototype for the interior with a female seated figure enjoying a fine pastime, dressed in a white gown whose delicate fabric is embroidered with small fleur-de-lys of gold thread, is Kauffman's 'Morning Amusement' in the Hermitage, Saint Petersburg, from the early 1770s. One would date the portrait accordingly, were it not for the sitter's life dates. Since she was only born in 1772 and the portrait probably shows a woman of at least twenty, the portrait would have to have been painted in Italy in the early 1790s. Since this type of portrait only occurs in England and not in the artist's late work, it is Baumgärtel's opinion that the question of the sitter's definite identification must remain open. Our thanks to Dr. Bettina Baumgärtel, head of the Angelika Kauffman Research Project, for her help in the preparation of this catalogue entry. Condition Report: overall: 94.5 x 82cm The canvas has been lined, with what appears to be a later strip lining. The surface is covered with a fine craquelure which has contracted in places. Under UV light, extensive infilling is apparent to the craquelure. This is mainly to the background, with more minimal intervention to the figure and hair. There is a more general area of retouching to the lower right of the skirts. Overall, the restoration has been well executed and colour matched, and the painting is presented ready to hang, in an gilt frame.