Lot 11: Jean-Baptiste van Loo , 1684 - 1745 Portrait of Princess Amelia (1711-1786), daughter of George II oil on canvas, held in a British Rococo carved and gilded frame

three-quarter length standing, wearing a blue, embroidered dress, with an ermine lined cloak, a cushion and coronet beyond oil on canvas, held in a British Rococo carved and gilded frame

measurements note 125 by 97 cm., 49 1/4 by 38 1/4 in.

O. Millar, Tudor, Stuart and Early Georgian Pictures in the Collection of Her Majesty The Queen, 1963, Vol. I, p.179

The Pelham Family;
by descent

THE PROPERTY OF A NOBLEMAN
The sitter was the daughter of George II. She was born at Herrenhausen in Hanover, and later moved to England with her sisters in 1714. She was very well educated with a particular love of music, and was also an enthusiastic rider with a passion for hunting. It is recorded that when over forty she still shocked the congregation at Hampton Court by attending chapel 'in riding clothes with a dog under her arm'. Her assertive character made her many enemies, but she gathered around her in her household a group of witty and well-read friends such as Walpole. In 1751 she was made Ranger of Richmond Park and had her own house, New Lodge. Her attempts to close the park to the public led to widespread controversy and ended up in court. In later life she moved to Cavendish Square, and in 1761 bought Gunnersbury House in Ealing where she worked to improve the gardens. Van Loo came to England in 1737 and George Vertue mentions Princess Amelia as amongst his first royal patrons (Notebooks, Vol. III, p. 84). The present portrait is a version of the picture in the Royal Collection probably painted in early 1738.