Portrait of John Wynch

Elsie Gertrude Kehoe (1888–1967), Cliffe Dene, Saltdean, Sussex, England, by June 15, 1950;

Purchased from her sale, Objects of Vertu, Fine Watches, and Portrait Miniatures, Sotheby’s, London, June 15, 1950, lot 174, by Leggatt Brothers, London, probably on behalf of Mr. John W. (1905–2000) and Mrs. Martha Jane (1906–2011) Starr, Kansas City, MO, 1950–1965 [1];

Their gift to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1965.

Notes

[1] 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, NAMA curatorial files. The Starrs purchased numerous miniatures in Elsie Kehoe’s sale, including a pair of portraits by Smart of Charlotte and Josias Du Pré Porcher.

The sale catalogue describes the lot as “a miniature of John Wynch, by John Smart, signed and dated 1784, head and shoulders, three-quarters sinister, gaze directed at spectator, powdered hair en queue, in white vest and frilled cravat, dark brown coat, oval, 2 1/8 in. John Wynch, of the Madras Army, born in 1757, was the son of Alexander Wynch, Governor of Madras Florentia [sic], and his wife; see lot 147 above.” Lot 147 in the same sale contains miniature portraits of Wynch’s parents, Alexander and Florentia Wynch. They are described as follows: “Mrs. Florentia Wynch, by George Engleheart, head and shoulder three-quarters sinister, a white veil over her profuse grey hair and a black fichu over her white dress, in pearl-bordered frame, 2 in.; and a Miniature of her husband, Alex Wynch, by Nathaniel Hone, in blue coat with gold facing, small oval, 1/14 in. Alex Wynch, Governor of Madras from 1773 to 1775, married Florentia, daughter of General Craddock, in 1754.”