Attributed to George Clint, 1770 – 1854 Portrait of Maria "Foote" Stanhope, Countess of Harrington (1797-1867) as Maria Darlington in "A Roland for an Oliver"

Attributed to George Clint, 1770 – 1854

PORTRAIT OF MARIA "FOOTE" STANHOPE, COUNTESS of HARRINGTON (1797-1867) as Maria Darlington in "A Roland for An Oliver"

MARIA "FOOTE" STANHOPE, COUNTESS of HARRINGTON

Signed/Inscribed:

circa 1825, inscription to verso in red ink 'Miss foote, Darlington', and numbered "14488"

oil on board

9.20 x 9.20 cm. (3.62 x 3.62 in.)

PROVENANCE : The Late Robert Hardy CBE, FSA, 1925 – 2017, Actor

Maria Foote, [married name Maria Stanhope, countess of Harrington] (1797–1867), actress, was born at Plymouth on 24 July 1797, the daughter of Samuel T. Foote, a theatre manager, and his wife, a Miss Hannington, of Twyford, Hertfordshire. In July 1810 she appeared at her father's Plymouth theatre as Juliet, and on 26 May 1814 she made her début at Covent Garden as Amanthis in The Child of Nature (adapted by Elizabeth Inchbald from the French of Madame de Genlis). In this part, which was particularly suited to her abilities, she was widely acclaimed. She performed in every season at Covent Garden until 1825, and in 1826 made her first appearance at Drury Lane. Indefatigable in touring, she is said to have performed in the English provinces, Scotland, and Ireland every year for five years. She was, however, more notable for her beauty than her talents: Macready recorded that, for the original production of Sheridan Knowles's Virginius (17 May 1820), 'the lovely Miss Foote' played Virginia, and that, 'thankfully accepting my tuition, [she] produced the most pleasing effect by aiming at none' (Macready's Reminiscences, 1.209). John Genest wrote that 'she was a very pretty woman and a very pleasing actress, but she never would have travelled about as a star if it had not been for circumstances totally unconnected with the stage' (Genest, 9.358–9).

In 1815 Maria Foote had become the mistress of Colonel William Berkeley, later Earl Fitzhardinge (1786–1857), 'a sort of tenth-rate Rochester' (GEC, Peerage), with whom she had two children. A promise of marriage was given, but, when it did not occur, in June 1824 Maria broke off the relationship. She then received an offer of marriage from Joseph ‘Pea-Green’ Hayne of Burderop Park, Wiltshire; she ended her theatrical contract, but Hayne too eventually refused to marry her, claiming not to have known of her relationship with Berkeley until Berkeley, in a fit of pique, told him about it. Maria Foote sued Hayne for breach of promise on 21 December 1824, and secured £3000 in damages, having proved that Hayne had renewed his offer of marriage after his interview with Berkeley and after Maria had given custody of her children to her former lover. The case caused a sensation, and was taken up by pamphleteers. Following the failure of her matrimonial scheme, Maria Foote returned in February 1825 to the stage at Covent Garden, where the notoriety of her personal life ensured full houses. She made her last appearance in Birmingham on 11 March 1831. On 7 April 1831 she married Charles Stanhope, fourth earl of Harrington (1780–1851), at his family seat, Elvaston Hall, Derbyshire. They had a son, who died at the age of four, and a daughter, who lived to marry the third Marquess Conyngham. Unable to move in society, Lady Harrington lived in virtual seclusion at Elvaston Hall. She died from bronchitis at her home, 2 Richmond Terrace, Whitehall, London, on 27 December 1867. Joseph Knight, revised by K. D. Reynolds DNB

George Clint, (1770–1854), theatrical genre painter and engraver, was born in London at Brownlow Street, Holborn, on 12 April 1770, the son of Michael Clint, a hairdresser in Lombard Street, and his first wife. The family came from Hexham in Northumberland. Clint received a simple education in Yorkshire. He had several false starts before taking up painting, first as a fishmonger's apprentice, then in an attorney's office, and finally