Portrait of Mary Hooper (Née Davie) in Blue Dress Seated in a Parkland C. 1715–1725; Jonathan Richardson the Elder (1667–1745), Oil on Canvas Painting

A rare, near life-size three-quarter-length portrait of an identified heiress, this work is historically notable as a large-scale female portrait attributed to Jonathan Richardson the Elder, with an unusually coherent provenance and continuous recognition of the sitter’s identity for almost 300 years. It exemplifies early Georgian elite values, and highlights women’s role as transmitters of property and social continuity. The sitter, seated and turned slightly left, wears a blue silk gown over a pale chemise, with restrained jewellery and softly dressed hair; the broad drapery and dusk landscape setting support a date of c. 1715–1725. An inscription names “Mrs Hooper” and a signature “Richardson pinx”; stylistically the cool, layered facial modelling, psychologically attentive eyes, and restrained mouth align with Richardson’s sober realism, distinct from Kneller, while broader handling in drapery/background suggests possible studio assistance.

Documented in 1931 as Mary Hooper (née Davie), baptised 22 April 1688, she was eldest daughter and co-heiress of Sir William Davie, 4th Baronet of Creedy, and Mary Steadman of Downside (Somerset). Her inheritance and marriage to Nicholas Hooper of Raleigh, Devon (son of Sir Nicholas Hooper, lawyer and Tory MP) linked landed wealth with legal and political influence. The portrait was likely commissioned around her marriage or inheritance consolidation and displayed at Raleigh as a visual assertion of lineage and authority. Mary died 16 May 1762.

Provenance: by descent from Mary Hooper to Frances Davie (Chudleigh), then to the Oxenden family (Deane Park/Broome Park, Kent), to Muriel Dixwell-Oxenden, Lady Capel Cure; Christie’s London, 20 Nov 1931 (lot 82); reputedly Isabella Robertson Christie; Dowell’s, Edinburgh, May 1950; Achille Gallo, New Orleans; and by descent to the Caulffield family.

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