Portrait of Mary Andalusia Thellusson, Lady Rendlesham

Possibly commissioned by the sitter, Mary Andalusia Thellusson, Lady Rendlesham (1791–1814), Suffolk, England, 1811 [1];

Unknown owner, by July 27, 1944 [2];

Purchased from the unknown owner’s sale, Old English Silver, Also Miniatures, Objects of Vertu, Etc., Sotheby’s, London, July 27, 1944, lot 144, as A Lady, by Bartle Charles Philip (1886–1949) and Elsie Gertrude (1888–1967) Kehoe, Saltdean, Sussex, 1944–1950 [3];

Purchased from Elsie Kehoe’s sale, Objects of Vertu, Fine Watches, Etc., Sotheby’s, London, June 15, 1950, lot 137, as A Lady, 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 [4];

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

NOTES:

[1] According to Engleheart’s fee book, listed in George Williamson and Henry Engleheart, George Engleheart 1750–1829: Miniature Painter to George III (London: George Bell and Sons, 1902), 112.

[2] In the Sotheby’s July 27, 1944 sale, “Other Properties” sold lots 141-165.

[3] The sales catalogue reads, “A Miniature of a Lady by George Engleheart, signed, full-face, in low cut white dress, 2½in., circa 1810.” According to Art Prices Current, “Kehoe” bought lot 144 for £10 10s. The miniature’s 1811 inscription was discovered after this 1944 sale and before the 1950 sale, suggesting that Kehoe opened the miniature. Per a 2018 conversation with conservator Carol Aiken, “Someone has cleaned it in the past.”

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/Calendar?surname=kehoe&yearOfDeath=1950#calendar. 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: “A Mr. and Mrs. Kehoe of Brighton gave us gracious hospitality while showing us theirs [collection of miniatures].” Page 440.

[4] The sales catalogue reads, “A Miniature of a Lady, by George Engleheart, signed, nearly full face, dark hair, in low square-cut white dress, cloud and sky background, oval, 2 ½ in. Sold in these Rooms July, 1944. The Miniature bears the Hertford Street, Mayfair, address and date 1811 at back.” According to an attached price list in the sales catalogue, Leggatt bought lot 137 for £20. 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.