Portrait of a Woman, Probably a Countess

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.