Portrait of Pulteney Malcolm, Captain of the Donegal

Commissioned by Pulteney (1768–1838) and Clementina (1775–1830) Malcolm, Burnfoot, Westerkirk, Scotland, around February 7, 1809 [1];

To their son, William Elphinstone Malcolm (1817–1907), Burnfoot, Westerkirk, Scotland, by 1838 [2];

By descent to his daughter, Mary Palmer Douglas Malcolm (1859–1949), Cavers, Scotland, by 1907–1949 [3];

Purchased from her posthumous sale, Objects of Art and Vertu and Miniatures, Christie, Manson, and Woods, London, July 18, 1949, lot 55, as Captain Sir Pultney [sic] Malcolm, by “Baker” (probably Hans Backer), London, 1949 [4];

Probably purchased from Backer by Sir Bruce Stirling Ingram (1877–1963), London, 1949–1963 [5];

Purchased from his posthumous sale, Fine Portrait Miniatures and Objects of Vertu, Sotheby’s, London, July 20, 1964, lot 51, as Captain Pultney Malcolm, by Charles Woollett and Son, London, 1964 [6];

Probably purchased from Woollett by Mr. John W. (1905–2000) and Mrs. Martha Jane (1906–2011) Starr, Kansas City, MO, by 1965 [7];

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

Notes

[1] In the Christie’s July 18, 1949, sale catalogue, “Different Properties” sold lots 47–66. Lots 52–55 depict members of the Elphinstone and Malcolm family, which suggests that the same individual, probably a relative, sold all four lots. Specifically, they depict Pulteney and Clementina; her father William Fullerton Elphinstone (1740–1834); and their sons George (1814–1837) and William (Hon. William Elphinstone, 1817–1907) by Andrew Robertson (in a leather case); Pulteney Malcolm, a cameo by Samuel Andrew; and, in the same lot, a silhouette of Rear-Admiral Sir Hugh C. Christian (in a leather case); George Pulteney and William Elphinstone Malcolm as infants (in a leather case), and, in the same lot, Lady Clementina Malcolm (in a leather case); and Pulteney Malcolm by John Smart (in a leather case). Pulteney had a sister named Helen Elphinstone Malcolm (1771–1858). Her name suggests a further connection to Clementina Elphinstone’s family, but there are not enough details to make a direct link.

[2] 1838 was the year William’s father and the sitter, Pulteney, died.

[3] Pulteney Malcolm’s only grandchild, Mary Palmer Douglas Malcolm, died on May 20, 1949, two months before the family’s portraits were sold. Pulteney Malcolm’s son George died young, so William was the only one to marry. He married Mary Douglas in 1857 and they had one child: Mary, who later married Captain Edward Palmer in 1879. When she died, her estate’s death duties were financially fatal. This could explain why the family sold the portraits. See Hawick Archeological Society, Transactions of the Hawick Archaeological Society (Hawick: Scott and Paterson, 1949), 53.

[4] It was described in the sales catalogue as “Portrait of Captain Sir Pultney [sic] Malcolm by John Smart, signed with initials and dated 1809, three-quarter face to the left, in gold-faced naval coat and black stock—oval, 3 3/4 in. high, leather case.” Although Mary Palmer Douglas Malcolm’s identity as the seller is not definitive, there is a high degree of confidence this was her sale, based on the other family portraits in the surrounding lots, the date of her death two months prior to the auction, and her financial debts at the time of her death.

According to Art Prices Current 25 (1947–1949), “Baker” bought lot 55 for £50 8s, but as was the case with this published record of annual sales, the name is probably misspelled and should be “Backer.” It most likely refers to Hans Backer, who was a popular miniature dealer and sometimes bid for the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. This name comes up in Starr correspondence (see letter, October 11, 1955, University of Missouri-Kansas City archives, box 22, folder 9).

[5] Ingram was actively collecting naval works of art in 1949, including the John Smart portrait in pencil, Captain Pulteney Malcolm of the Donegal, 1809, pencil and wash, 5 7/8 x 5 1/2 in. (14.9 x 14 cm), The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens, San Marino, CA. Sir Bruce Ingram Collection, 63.52.235.

[6] It was described in the sales catalogue as “A Fine Miniature of Captain Pultney [sic] Malcolm by John Smart, signed and dated 1809, three-quarters sinister, gaze directed at spectator, his grey hair cropped short and wearing a blue, gold-braided naval uniform, over a white shirt and black cravat, large oval 3 3/4 in., fitted case. Daphne Foskett, John Smart, illustrated a pen and wash miniature of Captain Malcolm, afterwards Admiral Sir Pultney [sic] Malcolm, signed in full by Smart and also dated 1809; it too was formerly in the collection of the late Sir Bruce Ingram.” The catalogue for this sale is located at University of Missouri-Kansas City, Miller Nichols Library. Lot 51 is reproduced on the frontispiece. According to an attached price list, “Woollett” purchased the miniature for £240 / $672.00.

[7] There is a 1964 letter in the Nelson-Atkins Registration file addressed to Woollett and Son from the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich. It describes the military career of Sir Pulteney Malcom. Charles Woollett and Son, London, was a respectable fine arts dealer, who frequently purchased portrait miniatures in the mid-1900s.