John Perceval, 2nd Earl of Egmont

Inscriptionback to top

Inscribed, top left: IOHN.EARL.OF.EGMONT.BARON./LOVELL.AND.HOLLAND.&C.1759.

This portraitback to top

The inscription, apparently written after 1770 (see note 2), gives the date 1759; the companion piece, showing the seated Countess, Egmont’s second wife, holding their infant son Charles (b. 1756), [1] is inscribed in a similar hand with the date 1st October 1758. [2] Both portraits were engraved by McArdell in 1764-65. A full-size copy was in the Egmont sale, Christie’s, 12 December 1930, lot 89.

Footnotesback to top

1) Egmont sale, Christie’s, 24 February 1933, lot 50; with Lane Fine Art, London, 1993.
2) CATHARINE DR. OF CHARLES COMPTON. & SISTER OF CHARLES COMPTON EARL OF NORTHAMPTON, COUNTESS OF EGMONT. WITH MASTER CHARLES PERCEVAL HER SON 1ST OCTOBER 1758 AET 2. CREATED BARONESS OF ARDEN, IN HER OWN RIGHT & TO HER HEIRS MALE 1770.

Physical descriptionback to top

Pale brown eyes, powdered wig; his Earl’s coronet in his right hand; beneath his Peer’s coronation robes he wears a blue-grey coat with gold trim and a white satin waistcoat with gold trim; turquoise chair and dark green curtain.

Provenanceback to top

By descent in the sitter’s family; Egmont sale, Christie’s, 12 December 1930, lot 88, bought Leggatt for the NPG.

Exhibitionsback to top

Beningbrough 1979-.

Reproductionsback to top

J. McArdell 1764; anon. (bust length; Universal Mag.; anon. 1802 (bust length); Freeman 1807 (bust length).


This extended catalogue entry is from the out-of-print National Portrait Gallery collection catalogue: John Ingamells, National Portrait Gallery: Mid-Georgian Portraits 1760-1790, National Portrait Gallery, 2004, 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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