Portrait of Josias Du Pré Porcher

Elsie Gertrude Kehoe (1888–1967), Cliffe Dene, Saltdean, Sussex, England, 1950 [1];

Purchased from her sale, Objects of Vertu, Fine Watches, Etc., Including The Property of Mrs. W. D. Dickson; also Fine Portrait Miniatures Comprising The Property of Mrs. Kehoe, Sotheby’s, London, June 15, 1950, lot 175, as Josias Dupré Porcher, by Leggatt Brothers, London, probably on behalf of Mr. John W. (1905–2000) and Mrs. Martha Jane (1906–2011) Starr, Kansas City, MO, 1950–1958 [2];

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

Notes

[1] Elsie Gertrude Noble married Bartle Charles Philip Kehoe (1886–1949) in 1913 in Salford, Lancashire. The couple lived at 29 Harrington Gds., South Kensington in 1927; 1 Royal Crescent, Marine Parade, Brighton in 1929; and Roedean Crescent, “Four Winds” in 1939. Bartle’s job was “managing director public works contractor.” Elsie and Bartle traveled internationally; passenger lists show they traveled from Genoa, Italy, to Southampton in December 1927 and again in November 1929 (they were away for about a month in 1929). Bartle’s profession is also listed as, “Civil Engineer,” “Director,” and “Director Coy.” All according to records found on Ancestrylibrary.com. They do not appear to have had children. Bartle died November 2, 1949. According to his will, his effects were £10,665. See UK Probate Search: Kehoe, 1950, p. 26, https://probatesearch.service.gov.uk/. Elsie died at 60 Greenways Ovingdean, Brighton on December 16, 1967. Her effects totaled £9,738.

Martha Jane Starr’s correspondence to her friend, Betty Hogg, from March 22, 1949: “A Mrs. Kehoe is a collector over there [London] and I was referred to her last year and just recently she mailed me a catalogue from Agnew with the sale prices of miniatures paid and some fine ones went very reasonably in comparison with American prices. If the distance isn’t too great perhaps you could phone or contact her for her opinion on the numbers and portraits I’m listing.” An undated letter from Mrs. Hogg, following an auction “. . . your lots 25 and 48 had me worried they seemed so popular! I did not call Mrs. Kehoe for I thought she might be a competitor and bid against me!!” The Starrs mentioned them in Antiques magazine in 1961 (p. 440): “A Mr. and Mrs. Kehoe of Brighton gave us gracious hospitality while showing us theirs [collection of miniatures].” With thanks to Maggie Keenan for this research on Elsie Kehoe and untangling the relationship between Mrs. Kehoe and the Starrs, who considered themselves rival collectors.

[2] The joint lot of Josias Porcher and his wife Charlotte is illustrated and described in the catalogue as “a superb pair of miniatures, by John Smart, signed and dated 1787, of Josias Dupré Porcher and his wife, Charlotte, the former three-quarters sinister, powdered hair en queue, in white cravat and vest, and grey-brown coat; his wife three-quarters dexter, with a mass of curly hair falling to her shoulders, in a cream dress edged with pale blue, both with monograms at the back, narrow ovals, 2 3/8 in. . . . J. D. Porcher was Mayor of Madras in 1792, returned to England 1800, Member of Parliament for Bodmin, Bletchingley, and Dundalk, 1802–1818, Privy Councillor Decembre, 1818; died Winslade House, near Exeter, April 25th, 1820. His wife, the second daughter of Admiral Sir William Burnaby, Bt., married J. D. Porcher at St. Mary’s, Fort St. George, Madras, on November 1st, 1787.” 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.