Portrait of an Officer of the Horse Guards

Lady Hamilton, by April 27, 1950;

Purchased from Lady Hamilton’s sale, Catalogue of Objects of Vertu, Sotheby’s, London, April 27, 1950, lot 80, as A Man, by Leggatt Brothers, London, probably on behalf of Mr. John W. (1905–2000) and Mrs. Martha Jane (1906–2011) Starr, Kansas City, MO, by 1950–1958 [1];

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

Notes:

[1] “A Miniature of a Man by Peter Lens, signed, nearly full face, with powdered hair en queue, wearing a breast plate beneath a red jacket, a rather unusual feature.” 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 and annotated with an “X, £14, 3, 42,” and other marks. The lot number is also circled in the attached price list. According to price list, Leggatt bought lot 80 for £14. 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.