Picture perfect A portrait of Lanhydrock s Victorian family

Transcription

1 The grandparents Picture perfect A portrait of Lanhydrock s Victorian family The great-grandmother Anna-Maria Hunt, the great-grandmother of the Victorian family is credited with having saved Lanhydrock from demolition and decay, though she chose not to spend much time here herself. This portrait of Anna Maria, on display in the drawing room, was painted by George Romney ( ) in his London studio over seven sittings in However, her dog, Dragon, was added at a later date, as was a new hairstyle. One of Dragon s collars can be seen in the museum. Thomas James Agar-Robartes, 1 st Lord Robartes, and his wife Juliana, from the Pole-Carew family of Antony House, Cornwall, (also NT) are shown above as depicted by Royal Academy artist, George Richmond ( ). The watercolours, on display on easels in the inner hall, show the couple in the early days of their marriage (1844), whereas the oils (in the outer hall) were painted in 1869 and 1876 and show a more mature couple. There are several other works by George Richmond on display, including gouache, chalk and charcoal drawings of Mary Dickinson s parents, which are displayed in her bedroom.

2 The parents There are portraits of Thomas Charles Agar-Robartes, (2 nd Lord Robartes, 6 th Viscount Clifden) and his wife Mary Dickinson at the foot of the teak staircase. Mary s love of music was shared by her children and is shown with a guitar in her portrait by Edwin Long RA ( ) in The oil painting of Thomas Charles was completed by Walter William Ouless RA ( ) in The twins, Tommy and Eva, were drawn in 1881, while the pictures of Mary and Gerald are dated The children This painting shows the four oldest children of Thomas Charles and Mary. The artist, Anna Lea Merritt ( ), was a very popular painter of the day who specialised in painting children, whom she believed were less inhibited models. Painted in 1885 it shows (from left to right) Tommy, Eva, Gerald and Mary. Look out for it as you descend the teak staircase from the servants quarters. These children are also depicted in chalk and charcoal portraits as very young infants. The drawings, by William Edwards Miller (active ), are displayed in the boudoir.

3 Eldest son & heir You can see the family s eldest son, Tommy, progressing into manhood in two portraits displayed on the teak staircase. John Hanson Walker ( ) painted Tommy as a young man at Eton. Shown in a library with a book in his hand, the impression is of a learned and serious student, though letters from his masters to his father paint a rather different picture of his approach to his studies. This three-quarter length commemorative portrait by Richard Jack shows Tommy as MP of south-east Cornwall, presenting the first reading of the Land Tenure Bill. He is wearing morning dress and addressing the House of Commons, holding his notes and wearing his customary buttonhole of violets, his mother s favourite flower. Tommy was MP for S.E. Cornwall until He later served as MP for St Austell from 1908 until his death at the Battle of Loos in A further portrait by Richard Jack ( ), in the corridor by Ladyship s bedroom, shows his sister Violet posing with a King Charles spaniel on her lap. Second son Following Tommy s untimely death in the First World War, it was Gerald (Francis Gerald Agar-Robartes, 7 th Viscount Clifden) who inherited Lanhydrock in 1930 when Thomas Charles died. He donated Lanhydrock to the National Trust in Gerald is painted as a child, in a very similar style and clothing as the Anna Lea Merritt painting, by John Hanson Walker. This painting is displayed on the teak staircase. An older Gerald is shown in one of a pair of watercolours in the family museum, the other being of Violet.

4 The younger children Although there are numerous portraits of Tommy, Gerald and Violet there are fewer of the other children. Thomas Charles and Mary s fifth child, John Radnor, died at just six months old, from bronchitis, and is not depicted in any of the portraits in the house, though he is in a photograph in the schoolroom. More curiously, there are no portraits of Constance, the couple s youngest daughter, who took up a career in nursing following voluntary service in the role during the First World War. Victor was the couple s sixth child, and is shown in a double portrait by James Sant R.A. ( ) with his closest sibling, Violet. Kittens and puppies were popular motifs in children s portraiture but their inclusion here also reflects the family s genuine love of animals. Professional and family photographs of the children frequently show them posing with their pets. In the corridor outside Lady Clifden s bedroom, you ll find this oil painting of Cecil by Henry Weigall ( ) completed in Weigall also painted a pair of portraits of Thomas Charles and Mary which are displayed in the inner hall. Alec was the baby of the family, and was referred to as such as late as 1902 in Constance s diary, where she writes Baby rode for the first time today. His portrait, in gouache by the Italian artist Augusto Stoppoloni ( ), is displayed in the boudoir. The portrait is signed and dated 1902, a period during which the artist was living in London and specialising in elegant life-size portraits.

5 Family tree The Victorian family

6 Earlier generations Richard Robartes Frances Hender John Robartes (poss.) Lucy Rich Letitia Isabella Smith Sarah Bodville Francis Robartes Charles Bodville Eliz. Cutler George Booth Mary Booth John Robartes Robartes Mary Vere Robartes Thomas Hunt II Henry Robartes George Hunt Thomas Hunt III Mary Bold