Portrait of a Man, Probably John Whitelock

Mrs. Helen Carew (d. by 1951), by 1951 [1];

Purchased from her posthumous sale, Objects of Art and Vertu: Fine Gold Watches and Boxes and Miniatures: The Property of Amie, Lady Noble; Allan Lennox-Boyd, Esq., M. P.; John Vincent, Esq., J. P.; Mrs. Helen Carew, decd.; A. R. Cox, Esq., decd.; and A Gentleman, Christie, Manson, and Woods, London, October 15, 1951, lot 35, as Portrait of a Gentleman, by Leggatt Brothers, London, probably on behalf of Mr. John W. (1905–2000) and Mrs. Martha Jane (1906–2011) Starr, Kansas City, MO, 1951–1958 [2];

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

Notes

[1] “Mrs. Carew gave from the Farquhar Matheson Collection twenty-five snuff-boxes in gold, enamel, and other materials, and a group of objects of silversmiths’ work,” according to Victoria and Albert Museum, Review of the Principal Acquisitions During the Year (London: H. M. Stationary Office, 1920), 57. Basil Long mentions a Carew in an article on Richard Crosse: “The largest existing collections of miniatures by Richard Crosse are probably those belonging to the Rev. W. E. Crosse Cross and Mr. Charles Robert Sydenham Carew. The latter inherited his collection from the late Rev. Robert Baker Carew, of Collipriest, near Tiverton . . . the remainder of Mr. Charles Carew’s collection, including numerous miniatures by Crosse and a full-length portrait of a Miss Crosse, is at Collipriest.” Basil Long, “Richard Crosse, Miniaturist and Portrait-Painter,” Volume of the Walpole Society 17 (1928): 65. Charles Robert Sydenham Carew (1853–1939) married Muriel Mary, who died in 1939. None of his siblings were named Helen or married a Helen, and none died in 1950 or 1951. Another Helen Carew (nee Wyllie) was close friends with author Oscar Wilde, but died in 1928 at the age of 72.

[2] Described in the auction catalogue as “Portrait of a gentleman, by Samuel Cotes, signed and dated 176–, wearing mauve coat with green facings and powdered wig, oval, 2 in. high.” The annotated catalogue for this sale is located at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, Miller Nichols Library. The annotations are most likely by Mr. or Mrs. Starr. The lot number is circled in pen and pencil, with “52,” and “? refer to miniature 178–” written next to the lot. The Starrs likely saw the miniature in person and believed the date was more likely to be 178– than 176–. Leggatt purchased lot 35 for £9 9s. The annotated “178–” date aligns with the date the miniature had in 1971. Archival research has shown that Leggatt Brothers served as purchasing agents for the Starrs.