Portrait of Lady Dorothy Spencer, Countess of Sunderland

Probably commissioned by Lady Dorothy Spencer, Countess of Sunderland (1617–1684), in 1653;

Possibly by descent to Lord George Spencer, 2nd Earl Spencer (1758–1834), by 1783;

Possibly with James Edwards, Esq., Pall Mall, by 1827;

Possibly sold at Catalogue of a Very Valuable and Extensive Collection of Fine Miniature Portraits, in Water Colours, or Oil and Enamel, Christie’s, London, February 3, 1827, lot 72, as Dorothy, Countess of Sunderland; (Waller’s Sacharissa) [1];

Henry Danby Seymour (1820–1877), Ashridge House, Hertfordshire, by 1877;

By descent to his niece, Miss Jane Margaret Seymour (1873–1943), East Knoyle, Wiltshire, by 1928;

Purchased from her sale, Catalogue of Valuable Portrait Miniatures, Sotheby’s, London, May 9, 1928, lot 47, as Dorothea, Countess of Sunderland (the Sacharissa of Waller), by Harry Seal, Esq. (1873–1948), Ullesthorpe House, Rugby, 1928–1948 [2];

Purchased from his posthumous sale, Catalogue of The Choice Collection of Portrait Miniatures formed by the late Harry Seal, Esq., Christie, Manson, and Woods, London, February 16, 1949, lot 92, as Dorothea, Countess of Sunderland, by H.E. Backer (1901–1965), St. John's Wood, London, 1949 [3];

Mr. John W. (1905–2000) and Mrs. Martha Jane (1906–2011) Starr, Kansas City, MO, by 1958;

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

Notes:

[1] A miniature described as “Dorothy, Countess of Sunderland; (Waller’s Sacharissa) by S. Cooper; very fine” is listed in Catalogue of a Very Valuable and Extensive Collection of Fine Miniature Portraits, in Water Colours, or Oil and Enamel, Christie’s, London, February 3, 1827. The seller of lot 72 is not listed, but it could be James Edwards, Esq., who is listed among the consignors to the sale. In 1801, Edwards received a lot of “ten original miniatures, portraits of the Stuart family,” received as payment for a diplomatic favor to George Spencer, 2nd Earl Spencer, then First Lord of the Admiralty (1794–1801). Spencer was a direct descendant of the Countess of Sunderland and could have been in possession of the Nelson-Atkins miniature, but it does not match the description of the ten Stuart miniatures gifted to Edwards. J.J. Foster, British Miniature Painter and their Works (London: Sampson Low, Marston and Dickinsons, 1898), 115–16.

[2] The lot is described as “Dorothea, Countess of Sunderland (the Sacharissa of Waller), by Samuel Cooper, signed in monogram, and dated 1653, head and shoulders, three-quarters right, with luxuriant ringlets, in a black dress edged in muslin and wearing a necklace of large pearls, oval, 2 3/8 in.” It is possible that the Starrs acquired this miniature from Backer after the conclusion of the Seal sale, from which they had directly purchased several miniatures.

[3] The sales catalogue reads, “Dorothea, Countess of Sunderland (1617–1684), by Samuel Cooper, signed with monogram and dated 1653. Daughter of Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester; Waller’s Sacharissa; three-quarter face to the left, in black dress edged with muslin, wearing a necklace of large pearls, with luxuriant ringlets. Oval – 2 3/8 in. high. From the Collection of Miss J.M. Seymour, 1928.” H.E. Backer seems to be the name Backer used professionally, but his full name is Hans Edmund Backer, who was a London and Romeb-based art dealer. Backer sometimes bid for the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. This name comes up in Starr correspondence (See letter of October 11, 1955, University of Missouri-Kansas City archives, Box 22, Folder 9).