Roy Precious - Antiques & Fine Art has dated this piece to the 18th Century.
FRANCIS GREGOR, (1686-1762), aged 27 in the portrait, was born in Trewarthenick in the parish of Cornelly, Cornwall.
He married, firstly, Maria Ratcliffe who died in 1720, and secondly in 1724, Dorothy Harn, died 1792.
Francis became Deputy Lieutenant of the Duchy of Cornwall: his son, Francis, served in the 53rd Regiment at Quebec under General Wolfe and became his secretary. In this portrait he holds a vellum scroll dated 1215, the date of the Magna Carta.
This painting, until the late 1960s, hung in the Great Hall of Trewarthenick House, Cornwall, at that time the property was sold out of the family.
In 1969 the portrait was relined by the then owner and the signature of the artist on the verso of the canvas was obscured, It was, however traced and this tracing comes with the portrait, as does much correspondence with Cornwall County Council concerning the portrait and family, a handwritten family tree, a copy of the Journal of the Royal Institution of Cornwall concerning the family and showing this portrait, and a framed engraving of Trewarthenick House, dated 1832. (See images).
WILLIAM GANDY (c1655-1729) Registered as the son of artist William Gandy, although in later life he claimed he was the illegitimate son his father's patron , the Duke of Ormonde.
His known work dates after 1700 and is of a high standard; his paintings were admired by Sir Godfrey Kneller, Painter to the King, and he is said to have influenced Reynolds, especially in the texture of the paint. Reynolds and Northcote are both reportred to have borrowed his paintings to make studies. His compositions can be original, and he often represents his sitter, as here, 'tightly' within the framework of the canvas. He is buried in St. Paul's Church, Exeter.
SIZE: 35.5 x 30.5 inches including frame.
PROVENANCE: by direct family descent until the late 1960s. Latterly in an Oxfordshire private collection, having been bought from the trade many years ago.
Roy Precious - Antiques & Fine Art has dated this piece to the 18th Century.
Roy and nadine precious: specialists in portraiture from the 16th to the 20th century. Established in 1972.
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Portrait of Francis Gregor 1713, by William Gandy.
