Portrait of William Jones

Unknown owner, by 1953 [1];

Probably sold at Objects of Vertu, Portrait Miniatures, Watches, Snuff Boxes, Etc., Sotheby’s, London, July 23, 1953, lot 106, as William Jones [2];

John W. (1905–2000) and Mrs. Martha Jane (1906–2011) Starr, Kansas City, MO, by 1965;

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

Notes

[1] The unknown owner was not identified in the sale, listed in the catalogue only as “another property” consigning lots 104–106.

[2] This piece was offered for sale by “another property,” but all of the lots under this heading were withdrawn, according to the price list. The catalogue describes it as “a very fine miniature of William Jones, Esq., by John Smart, signed and dated 1764, depicting William Jones of Ramsbury Manor, half-length, three-quarters sinister, gaze directed to spectator, powdered hair en queue, in white cravat and gold braided green coat, his left hand resting in the unbuttoned coat, against a cloud and sky background, oval, 1 1/2 in. One of Smart’s early period miniatures, when on rare occasions he painted in a cloud and sky background. In this year, Smart also painted the 4th Earl of Chesterfield and a son, both of which are at Welbeck.” This catalogue is located at the University of Missouri-Kansas City’s Miller Nichols Library and was annotated, probably by the Starrs, with “came up in fa[ll?].” The words “painted in a cloud and sky background” are underlined by the annotator.