Sir George Howland Beaumont, 7th Bt

Inscriptionback to top

Inscribed lower left: Oct^r 1807 GD (initials in monogram).

This portraitback to top

Dance and Beaumont had been friends since about 1778 when Sir George returned from his honeymoon and opened his house in Grosvenor Square to a constant stream of artists, writers and architects. There are almost continuous references in Farington's Diary to the Dance brothers and the Beaumonts dining in each other's houses. Early in 1802 Beaumont asked Dance to submit plans for rebuilding Coleorton Hall, an 'unshackled' example of the picturesque completed in August 1808 and commemorated in a lapidary inscription above the front door: 'The architect was George Dance RA who has manifested as much friendship by his attention to the execution of the work as he has shown good sense, taste and genius in the design.' Dance returned the compliment in the dedication to Beaumont of his book of Portraits dated 1 November 1808, though Beaumont's portrait is not included therein.

Provenanceback to top

Dance family possession and sold by the Rev George Dance, the artist's grandson, Christie's, 1 July 1898 (15) among a large collection of Dance drawings bought by Colnaghi for the NPG.

Exhibitionsback to top

'Sir George Beaumont and his circle', Leicester Art Gallery, June-July 1953 (5); 'Sir George Beaumont, artist and patron', Manning Gallery touring exhibition, 1962 (62); 'Wordsworth Bicentenary', Arts Council, 1970 (59).


This extended catalogue entry is from the out-of-print National Portrait Gallery collection catalogue: Richard Walker, Regency Portraits, National Portrait Gallery, 1985, and is as published then. For the most up-to-date details on individual Collection works, we recommend reading the information provided in the Search the Collection results on this website in parallel with this text.

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