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    "WGC" Is linked to these Works of Art
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    Portrait of Miss Catherine Jones of Colomendy

    Portrait of Miss Catherine Jones of Colomendy
    Portrait of Miss Catherine Jones of Colomendy
    Portrait of Miss Catherine Jones of Colomendy
    The National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth
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    Artist
    Richard Wilson (1713/14-1782)
    Title
    Portrait of Miss Catherine Jones of Colomendy
    Date
    c.1735 (undated)
    Medium
    Oil on canvas
    Dimensions
    Metric: 71.5 x 58.6 cm
    Imperial: 28 1/8 x 23 1/16 in.
    Collection
    The National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth. To license images click here.
    Accession Number
    0199904563
    Wilson Online Reference
    P216
    Description
    Quarter-length portrait of a young woman seen full-face but with body turned to her left within a fictive oval frame. Her brown hair is partially covered by a white bonnet tied with a blue riband and she wears a white fichu, black ribbon and blue jacket with low collar and frogging.
    Provenance
    Catherine Garnons, Colomendy Hall, Llanferres, Denbighshire; Mr A.T. Roberts, Coed-dû; Robert Edwards, Mold; given by him to the Revd Jenkin Davies, Vicar of Mold; bought back on his death in 1872 by Robert Edwards; bt from him by Col. Philip Brian Davies-Cooke, Owstan Hall 1872 [ ... ]; Astley-Corbett sale, Christie's 8 July 1927 (130 - Portrait of Miss Catherine James); bt Waters; [...] Sotheby's, The Welsh Sale, Margam Park, Glamorgan, 19 October 1999 (87); bt by the National Library of Wales
    Signature/inscription
    Unsigned; no inscription recto but see verso inscriptions
    Verso inscriptions
    [1] Upper left on reverse of canvas in an old hand in black ink: This portrait of Miss Catherine Jones | b 1719. | d. 1786 ^bur. at Llanferres | nr Mold.\ of Colomendy near Mold, Flintre | was painted by Richard Wilson R.A: | At the sale at Colomendy after the death of | Mrs Garnons it was bought by Mr A.T. Roberts | of Coed-dû, who gave it to Robt Edwards of Mold | He gave it to The Revd. Jenkin Davies, Vicar of Mold, | On whose death in 1872 the said Robt Edwards |bought it, & from him it was purchased by | Philip B. Davies-Cooke 1872. | Richard Wilson. R.A. lived at Colomendy | with Miss Cathre Jones, & her Brother. | R. Wilson is buried in Mold Ch-yard.
    [2] Lower horizontal bar of stretcher, left end, black ink: 0199904563
    [3] Upper horizontal member of frame, yellow chalk: 20223405 [+illegible]
    Labels
    [1] Lower horizontal member of frame, left end: two printed and handwritten museum labels
    Subject
    Catherine Jones (1701-1786) was Wilson's first cousin and owner of Colomendy Hall, near Llanferres, Denbighshire, where he died in 1782. She died four years later and was interred in Llanferres Church on 12 September 1786 aged 85. The Jones family was of ancient Welsh stock; Catherine's father, Edward, had married his first wife, Margaret Wynne, in 1699, and her sister, Alice had married the Revd John Wilson, father of the artist.
    Bibliography
    WGC, pp. 16, 59, 65, 129,131; Baker and Jones 1996
    More Information
    Portraits by Wilson of Catherine Jones and her brother were recorded at Colomendy in 1833, together with those of the artist's brother, John, who was the land agent there, and their father.
    Condition/Conservation
    In an old carved frame with a gilded finish over a red bole. Italian Renaissance in style, this appears to have been cut down to fit the painting at some point. Kate Lowry has noted: Glue relined with extensive ink inscription on lining reverse. Stretched onto the wrong side of a modern four-member stretcher with mitred mortice joints. This has probably been reused as there are holes at the members' reverses that are unrelated to the present work. The original canvas is now stretched with approximately an inch of the painted area folded over the right hand stretcher member. The other edges do not appear to be reduced but this could be checked against the X-ray image made at the National Museum of Wales a few years ago. Viewed under UV light the face appears relatively untouched apart from a large square of retouching on the left side of the sitter's forehead. There are also widespread patchy retouchings throughout the background overlying the old varnish layer - otherwise no obvious repaired holes or tears. The edges of the stone oval and the sitter's black ribbon tie are heavily retouched.
    Updated by Compiler
    21/10/2021

    Documents

    • William George Constable, Richard Wilson
    • Rosa Baker and Rosemary Jones, 'The Park and Gardens of Colomendy Hall'
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