Lot 14: Richard Gibson (British, 1615-1690) Edward Radclyffe, 2nd Earl of Derwentwater (1655-1705), wearing suit of armour, white lace cravat, long natural wig

Edward Radclyffe, 2nd Earl of Derwentwater (1655-1705), wearing suit of armour, white lace cravat, long natural wig.
Watercolour on vellum, gilt-metal frame with pierced spiral cresting, engraved on the reverse Francis Radcliffe/ Earl of Derwentwater,/ married the Lady Mary Tudor,/ daugυtr of King Charles II./ Given to Lady Dorothy Leslie,/ by her cousin Anne,/ Countess of Newburgh, Slindon House./ July 30/42.
Oval, 49mm (1 15/16in) high
Provenance: Sotheby's, 12 October 1944, lot 14, sold to S.H.R. Harris for £46

The reverse of the frame indicates that the sitter is Francis Radclyffe (1625-1696), 1st Earl of Derwentwater but then goes on to provide the marriage details of his son, Edward. Further investigation based on the apparent date of the miniature and the age of the sitter would suggest that the sitter is more likely to be the latter, Edward Radclyffe. Comparison with a later portrait of Edward by Johann Closterman from the 1690s bolsters this identification.

Edward Radclyffe was the only child of Francis Radclyffe, 1st Earl of Derwentwater and Catherine Fenwick. On the 18th August 1687, he married Lady Mary Tudor (1673-1726), the illegitimate daughter of Charles II and the actress-singer, Mary 'Moll' Davies.

As Catholics, the Radclyffe family were ardent supporters of the House of Stuart. Edward and Mary's eldest son, James, 3rd Earl of Derwentwater (1689-1716), was raised at the Stuart court in France as a companion to the Old Pretender, Prince James Francis Edward Stuart. James Radclyffe and his brother Charles joined the Jacobite rising of 1715 and after being captured at Preston, both were tried in London on charges of treason and condemned to death.

Anthony James Radclyffe, 7th Earl of Derwentwater and 5th Earl of Newburgh (1757-1814) married Anne Webb (1763-1861) on the 30th June 1789. It is she who gifted the present lot to Lady Dorothy Leslie.