Portrait of Honora Margaretta Lambart, the Countess of Cavan

With Knoedler and Co., New York;

Probably purchased from Knoedler and Co., at their exhibition, An Exhibition of Miniatures by Celebrated Masters of the Sixteenth, Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries, 1906, lot 38, as Countess of Cavan, by Mortimer Loeb Schiff (1877–1931), New York, 1906–1931 [1];

By descent to his son, John Mortimer Schiff (1904–1987), New York, 1931–1938 [2];

Sold at his sale, Fine Decorative Furniture, Important Objects of Art, Tapestry, Sculpture and Rugs, Christie, Manson, and Woods, London, June 22, 1938, lot 42, as Countess of Cavan [3];

Mrs. Marjorie Rees, by 1954;

Purchased from her sale, Catalogue of Fine Portrait Miniatures, Faberge, Watches and Objects of Vertu, Sotheby’s, London, November 11, 1954, lot 63, as Countess of Cavan, by Leggatt Brothers, London, probably on behalf of Mr. John W. (1905–2000) and Mrs. Martha Jane (1906–2011) Starr, Kansas City, MO, 1954–1958 [4];

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

Notes:

[1] The exhibition catalogue, presumably a selling exhibition, is digitized as part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Thomas J. Watson Library digital collections, and is inscribed in hand-written black ink with the figure “800,” presumably referencing $800. See http://library.metmuseum.org/record=b1693961. It is likely that Mortimer Schiff acquired the miniature from this sale since he was living in New York at the time.

Schiff was an American banker and early Boy Scouts of America leader.

[2] According to the sales catalogue, “Being a part of the collection formed by the late Mortimer L. Schiff, Esq. Now sold by order of John Mortimer Schiff, Esq. of New York, U.S.A.”

[3] “A Miniature Portrait of the Countess of Cavan—by Richard Cosway, R.A. (1742–1821)—3 in. by 2 1/2 in. The Countess is shown as a young woman with curly hair, facing to the left, and in muslin dress. The frame containing a braided lock of light brown hair is studded with pearls. Pencil and colour.” Marjorie Rees may have purchased the portrait since it was in her possession when she sold it sixteen years later. Additional information on Mrs. Rees remains unknown, but her life dates may be (ca. 1899–1955).

[4] “An Attractive Miniature of the Countess of Cavan by Richard Cosway, head and shoulders three-quarters dexter, gaze directed at spectator, as a young woman with curly hair, blue eyes and wearing a muslin dress with high collar in pencil and colour, paste bordered frame, 2 3/4 in. From the Mortimer Schiff Collection, June 22nd, 1938, lot 42.” The sale is located at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Miller Nichols Library and was likely annotated by Mr. or Mrs. Starr. “Leggatt Bros.” bought lot 63 for £54. 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.