Bonhams 1793 : Sophie Liénard (French, active 1842-1845) Queen Victoria (1819-1901), Queen of Great Britain and Ireland (1837-1901), standing in the Royal Box at the Drury Lane Theatre, wearing white dress, three-quarter-length sleeves trimmed with two tiers of white lace, white rosette to her corsage set with a diamond pendant jewel, blue sash of the Order of the Garter, black lace shawl, diamond pendent earrings and diamond tiara, the ruched trim of her white gloves decorated with black rosettes, a nosegay of pink roses held in a gold bouquet-holder (a gift from the Marquess of Coyngham) in her left hand, her right hand resting on the ermine stole draped over the ledge of her box, on which sits a programme held open by an ivory fan, the gilt-wood and red upholstered chair behind the Queen bearing her monogram VR

Sophie Liénard (French, active 1842-1845) Queen Victoria (1819-1901), Queen of Great Britain and Ireland (1837-1901), standing in the Royal Box at the Drury Lane Theatre, wearing white dress, three-quarter length sleeves trimmed with two tiers of white lace, white rosette to her corsage set with a diamond pendant jewel, blue sash of the Order of the Garter, black lace shawl, diamond pendent earrings and diamond tiara, the ruched trim of her white gloves decorated with black rosettes, the Queen holds a white handkerchief and nosegay of pink roses in her left hand and rests her right hand on the ermine stole draped over the ledge of her box, on which sits a programme held open by an ivory fan, the gilt-wood and red upholstered chair behind the Queen bearing her monogram VR

28 Jun 2012 14:00 BST London, Knightsbridge
Fine Portrait Miniatures
Back to auction 19942

Sophie Liénard (French, active 1842-1845)

Queen Victoria (1819-1901), Queen of Great Britain and Ireland (1837-1901), standing in the Royal Box at the Drury Lane Theatre, wearing white dress, three-quarter-length sleeves trimmed with two tiers of white lace, white rosette to her corsage set with a diamond pendant jewel, blue sash of the Order of the Garter, black lace shawl, diamond pendent earrings and diamond tiara, the ruched trim of her white gloves decorated with black rosettes, a nosegay of pink roses held in a gold bouquet-holder (a gift from the Marquess of Coyngham) in her left hand, her right hand resting on the ermine stole draped over the ledge of her box, on which sits a programme held open by an ivory fan, the gilt-wood and red upholstered chair behind the Queen bearing her monogram VR.
Painted on porcelain, signed on the reverse and dated Queen Victoria/ copied by Sophie Lienard, of Paris,/ from the original by E. T. Parris/ London._1838., gilt-mounted within velvet border impressed with gilt-metal monogram VR above which sits a gilt-metal crown, a slip of paper bearing Victoria's autograph below the image, gilt-metal frame.
Rectangular, 179mm (7 1/16in) high

Sold for £27,500 inc. premium

Footnotes

As indicated by the inscription verso, the present lot derives from a portrait by Edmund Thomas Parris (British, 1793-1873). On her first state visit to the Drury Lane Theatre in November 1837, Parris made a preliminary sketch of the Queen from his seat in the orchestra. Understandably, this image of the young Queen was immensely popular and was reproduced by a number of artists. A version by the miniaturist Sarah Biffin was sold in these rooms, 19 November 2008, lot 167. Versions in oil exist in the Royal Collection and the Forbes Magazine Collection, New York. The portrait was also engraved by Charles Edward Wagstaff and published by Hodgson & Graves on 5 April 1838, giving it an even wider circulation. Perhaps due to the success of this portrait, later the same year, Parris was commissioned by Hodgson & Graves to portray the Queen's coronation. He received sittings from the Queen and all of the key figures who were scheduled to attend the ceremony. A print of this painting, also by Wagstaff was later published in 1842.

The whereabouts of Parris' prototype are somewhat elusive. It has been suggested that the original work is possibly that which formerly belonged to Queen Mary, exhibited in Queen Mary's Art Treasures at the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1954 (R. Ormond, Early Victorian Portraits, vol.I: Text, London, p.480).

Category: Fine Art / Portrait Miniatures

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