George Engleheart, Portrait of Mary Andalusia Thellusson, Lady Rendlesham, 1811

Chicago:

Maggie Keenan, “George Engleheart, Portrait of Mary Andalusia Thellusson, Lady Rendlesham, 1811,” catalogue entry in Aimee Marcereau DeGalan, Blythe Sobol, and Maggie Keenan, The Starr Collection of Portrait Miniatures, 1500–1850: The Collections of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, vol. 2, ed. Aimee Marcereau DeGalan (Kansas City: The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 2024), https://doi.org/10.37764/8322.5.1394.

MLA:

Keenan, Maggie. “George Engleheart, Portrait of Mary Andalusia Thellusson, Lady Rendlesham, 1811,” catalogue entry. Aimee Marcereau DeGalan, Blythe Sobol, and Maggie Keenan. The Starr Collection of Portrait Miniatures, 1500–1850: The Collections of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, edited by Aimee Marcereau DeGalan, vol. 2, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 2024. doi: 10.37764/8322.5.1394

See the artist’s biography in volume 4.

This previously unidentified miniature portrait of a woman, now thought to be Mary Andalusia Thellusson, Lady Rendlesham (1791–1814), shares a date and partial provenance with George Engleheart’s Portrait of a Man. It is tempting to treat them as a pair, given that Engleheart’s fee book reveals that a Lord and Lady Rendlesham paid for commissioned portraits in 1812.¹ However, their differing size and cases, along with further investigation into the provenance of Portrait of a Man, disprove any connection between the two portraits prior to their 1950 sale.² Nevertheless, the identification of the sitter seen here is secure: a print of Lady Rendlesham by the artist Charles Turner (1774–1857) (Fig. 1), described as being after Engleheart, shows an uncanny resemblance to the Nelson-Atkins Portrait of a Woman, thus firmly reconnecting a name with a face whose identity had been lost sometime before 1944.³

Lady Rendlesham was born Mary Andalusia Dickens on March 15, 1791, to Samuel Trevor Dickens (1764–1847) and Mary Anne Gearing (ca. 1766–1843).⁴ She married John Thellusson (1785–1832), firstborn son of Peter Isaac Thellusson (1761–1808) and Elizabeth Eleanor Cornwall (1763–1809), in 1809, one year after Peter Isaac’s death.⁵ At that juncture, John had become the second Baron Rendlesham, an auspicious title for a twenty-three-year-old just setting out on the marriage market.⁶ John and Mary’s marriage, however, was short: Mary died on August 15, 1814, at the age of twenty-three.⁷ Her obituary in Suffolk’s Monthly Magazine stated, “Her life was distinguished by all that can render a woman lovely and beloved, and her death was worthy of her life.”⁸ Lord Rendlesham also commissioned a memorial sculpture by John Flaxman (1755–1826) that includes figures representing Faith and Pity along with an angel guiding his wife toward heaven. The relief forms part of Lady Rendlesham’s tombstone and resides at St. Gregory’s Church in Rendlesham.⁹

In this woman whose “death was worthy of her life,” printmaker Charles Turner saw an opportunity to capitalize on potential print sales, and he forever immortalized young Mary in mezzotint.¹⁰ Turner had visited Engleheart’s studio as early as 1800 and had also copied Engleheart’s 1811 portrait of Major Edward Charles Cocks (1786–1812), probably after seeing it at the Royal Academy exhibition; he published a print after the portrait in 1813 following the Major’s fall in battle.¹¹ It is possible that Turner reproduced each of these miniatures after the sitters’ tragic early deaths, as memorials. The potential marketability and popularity of the tragic subject of Lady Rendlesham also caught the eye of enameller Henry Bone (1755–1834), who copied Turner’s print of Lady Rendlesham in 1815 (Fig. 2), thus narrowing the date of Turner’s mezzotint to 1811–1815, the years surrounding her 1814 death.

While there are notable differences between Turner’s print and Engleheart’s miniature, Turner frequently took creative license in his copies, often changing the background and the sitter’s costume.¹² Engleheart’s portrait is modest but striking. Lady Rendlesham’s upswept hair, pinned into a bun at the back of her head, emphasizes her elongated neck. Several tendrils escape, and an array of curls covers her entire forehead. An easily missed detail among her copper-colored wisps is a delicate gold hoop earring in her right ear. Her simple white dress, fitted close to her torso under her bust, was inspired by the classical styles of ancient Greece and Rome.¹³ With its relatively large format, the single cursive “E” signature, and the slight yellowish cast to the flesh tones, this work is typical of the last phase of Engleheart’s career.

Life tragically separated Lord and Lady Rendlesham upon her death in 1814, and then again when their portraits became separated and their identities became disassociated from them. This miniature of Mary Andalusia, Lady Rendlesham, tells half the story of a young couple who commissioned one of Britain’s most celebrated miniaturists to paint their portraits two years after their wedding, when they were full of hope for their future. The portrait of Lady Rendlesham transformed from a token of love to one of remembrance following her untimely death, until even that association was lost with time. Thankfully, her portrait and identity have now been restored.

Notes

1. George Williamson and Henry Engleheart, George Engleheart 1750–1829: Miniature Painter to George III (London: George Bell and Sons, 1902), 112. It is possible that Mary Andalusia sat for the painting in 1811 but paid for the miniature, and is thus listed in the fee book, in 1812. The fee book remains with Engleheart’s descendants.

2. Thank you to James Thellusson and art historian Bertrand du Vignaud, who confirmed that there are no known portraits of Lord Rendlesham in the Thellusson family. See Sotheby’s, “Catalogue of Old English Silver, also Miniatures, Objects of Vertu, etc.,” July 27, 1944, lot 144; and Sotheby’s, “Catalogue of Objects of Vertu, Fine Watches and Portrait Miniatures,” June 15, 1950, lot 137. In the 1944 sale, the portrait of a woman was dated “circa 1810,” but when the miniature sold again in 1950, its full inscription and date were included. This suggests that the object was opened while in the possession of the Kehoe family, between 1944 and 1950.

3. Williamson and Engleheart, George Engleheart, 112.

4. William Richard O’Byrne, “Dickens, Samuel Trevor,” A Naval Biographical Dictionary (London: John Murray, 1849), 286; Sylvanus Urban, “Obituary: Lieut.-Gen. Sir S. T. Dickens,” The Gentleman’s Magazine 28 (1847): 638. Mary Andalusia was their second daughter, and she had at least four brothers.

5. Vital records of Spratton, Northamptonshire Anglican Parish Registers and Bishop’s Transcripts, Northamptonshire Record Office; Mark Fairweather, “Rendlesham Hall—A Lost Treasure,” Rendlesham Parish Magazine (February 2021): 6–8; Mark Thompson, “The Rise of the Scientific Soldier as seen through the Performance of the Corps of Royal Engineers during the Early 19th Century” (PhD diss., University of Sunderland, 2009), 65n103; Urban, “Lieut.-Gen. Sir S. T. Dickens,” 638; Frederick Arthur Crisp, ed., Visitation of England and Wales (privately printed, 1906), 14:124–25; Edward Walford, Tales of Our Great Families (London: Chatto and Windus, 1890), 25–31. Mary was baptized on August 21, 1791, in Spratton, England. John and Mary’s wedding took place on November 30 in Malta, where Mary’s father was Commander of the Royal Engineers from 1800 to 1813. He obtained the rank of colonel in June of 1814 before returning to England, possibly in relation to his daughter’s sudden death. Also spelled “Thelusson” and “Thelluson,” John’s grandfather Peter Thellusson (1737–1797) of Brodsworth was a well-known Genevan banker who brought his business to London and whose contested will resulted in a notorious lawsuit, Thellusson v. Woodford (1799).

6. Crisp, Visitation of England and Wales, 124. John’s parents passed away within a year of each other, his mother dying ten days after his wedding. As the eldest son, John came into a significant inheritance by the time of his mother’s will dated March 28, 1811, perhaps providing the means for him to commission two miniatures by Engleheart that year.

7. Bernard Burke, “Rendlesham, Baron: Lineage,” A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire (London: Harrison, 1858), 20:1412. Two years after Mary’s unexpected death, John married Ann Sophia Tatnall (1794–1856) and had three children, including a daughter named after his first wife. Their son, Frederick Adolphus, died young, but their daughter Emily Elizabeth Julia went on to marry Thomas de Grey, 5th Baron Walsingham, and Sophia Mary Andalusia married Sir William Rose, K.C.B.

8. “Suffolk,” The Monthly Magazine 38 (1814): 295.

9. Part of the monument’s inscribed epitaph reads, “Ascend! in spotless Innocence arrayed /And claim the joys heaven, lamented Wife / While this sad tribute to thy Memory paid / Records the virtues of thy mortal life.” Rev. A. W. Van Den Bergh, Church Plate in Suffolk: Deanery of Loes, ed. Rev. Francis Haslewood (Suffolk: Institute of Archaeology and Natural History, 1896), 9:7; David Elisha Davy, A Journal of Excursions through the County of Suffolk: 1823–1844, ed. John Blatchly (Suffolk: The Boydell Press, 1982), 210. Rendlesham is a village located in East Suffolk, England. John Flaxman charged six hundred pounds and carved the figure of Pity himself.

10. Alfred Whitman, Charles Turner (London: G. Bell and Sons, 1907), 178. It remains unclear how widely the print of Mary circulated at the time, but a copy of the print is located at both the British Museum (1902,1011.5817) and London’s National Portrait Gallery (NPG D39686).

11. The Exhibition of the Royal Academy (London: B. McMillan, 1811), 31; Whitman, Charles Turner, 5, 69. According to his fee book, Engleheart painted the Cocks family in 1811: a Capt. T. S. Cocks, Major S. Cocks, and Mr. J. S. Cocks. “Mr. J. S.” is presumably either Edward’s father or brother, who were both named John Somers Cocks. Edward became a major of the 16th Light Dragoons in 1811, possibly indicating him as “Major S. Cocks.”

12. Turner copied at least ten other portrait miniatures. See James Gillray’s self-portrait, ca. 1800, watercolor on ivory, located at National Portrait Gallery, London, NPG 83. In Turner’s engraving, published in 1819, the coloring is changed, his lapel is extended, and a curtain is added to the background; Charles Turner, after James Gillray, James Gillray, ca. 1819, mezzotint, NPG D2775, https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw36996/James-Gillray?search=sp&sText=d2775&firstRun=true&OConly=true&rNo=0.

13. Fashion: The Collection of the Kyoto Costume Institute, ed. Akiko Fukai (Cologne: Taschen, 2002), 158. Her dress is standard for the period; the simple chemise dress became popular at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Typically made of cotton muslin, the high-waisted style resembled the draped garments of ancient Greek and Roman statues.

Possibly commissioned by the sitter, Mary Andalusia Thellusson, Lady Rendlesham (1791–1814), Suffolk, England, 1811 [1];

Unknown owner, by July 27, 1944 [2];

Purchased from the unknown owner’s sale, Old English Silver, Also Miniatures, Objects of Vertu, Etc., Sotheby’s, London, July 27, 1944, lot 144, as A Lady, by Bartle Charles Philip (1886–1949) and Elsie Gertrude (1888–1967) Kehoe, Saltdean, Sussex, 1944–1950 [3];

Purchased from Elsie Kehoe’s sale, Objects of Vertu, Fine Watches, Etc., Including The Property of Mrs. W. D. Dickson; also Fine Portrait Miniatures Comprising The Property of Mrs. Kehoe, Sotheby’s, London, June 15, 1950, lot 137, as A Lady, by Leggatt Brothers, London, probably on behalf of Mr. John W. (1905–2000) and Mrs. Martha Jane (1906–2011) Starr, Kansas City, MO, by 1950–1958 [4];

Their gift to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1958.

Notes

[1] According to Engleheart’s fee book, listed in George Williamson and Henry Engleheart, George Engleheart 1750–1829: Miniature Painter to George III (London: George Bell and Sons, 1902), 112.

[2] In the Sotheby’s July 27, 1944 sale, “Other Properties” sold lots 141-165.

[3] The sales catalogue reads, “A Miniature of a Lady by George Engleheart, signed, full-face, in low cut white dress, 2½in., circa 1810.” According to Art Prices Current, “Kehoe” bought lot 144 for £10 10s. The miniature’s 1811 inscription was discovered after this 1944 sale and before the 1950 sale, suggesting that Kehoe opened the miniature. Per a 2018 conversation with conservator Carol Aiken, “Someone has cleaned it in the past.”

Elsie Gertrude Noble married Bartle Charles Philip Kehoe (1886–1949) in 1913 in Salford, Lancashire. The couple lived at 29 Harrington Gds., South Kensington in 1927; 1 Royal Crescent, Marine Parade, Brighton in 1929; and Roedean Crescent, “Four Winds” in 1939. Bartle’s job was, “managing director public works contractor.” Elsie and Bartle traveled internationally; passenger lists show they traveled from Genoa, Italy, to Southampton in December 1927 and again in November 1929 (they were away for about a month in 1929). Bartle’s profession is also listed as, “Civil Engineer,” “Director,” and “Director Coy.” All according to records found on Ancestrylibrary.com. They do not appear to have had children. Bartle died November 2, 1949. According to his will, his effects were £10,665. See UK Probate Search: Kehoe, 1950, p. 26, https://probatesearch.service.gov.uk/Calendar?surname=kehoe&yearOfDeath=1950#calendar. Elsie died at 60 Greenways Ovingdean, Brighton on December 16, 1967. Her effects totaled £9,738.

Martha Jane Starr’s correspondence to her friend, Betty Hogg, from March 22, 1949: “A Mrs. Kehoe is a collector over there [London] and I was referred to her last year and just recently she mailed me a catalogue from Agnew with the sale prices of miniatures paid and some fine ones went very reasonably in comparison with American prices. If the distance isn’t too great perhaps you could phone or contact her for her opinion on the numbers and portraits I’m listing.” An undated letter from Mrs. Hogg, following an auction “. . . your lots 25 and 48 had me worried they seemed so popular! I did not call Mrs. Kehoe for I thought she might be a competitor and bid against me!!” The Starrs mentioned them in Antiques magazine in 1961: “A Mr. and Mrs. Kehoe of Brighton gave us gracious hospitality while showing us theirs [collection of miniatures].” Page 440.

[4] The sales catalogue reads, “A Miniature of a Lady, by George Engleheart, signed, nearly full face, dark hair, in low square-cut white dress, cloud and sky background, oval, 2 ½ in. Sold in these Rooms July, 1944. The Miniature bears the Hertford Street, Mayfair, address and date 1811 at back.” According to an attached price list in the sales catalogue, Leggatt bought lot 137 for £20. Archival research has shown that Leggatt Brothers served as purchasing agents for the Starrs. See correspondence between Betty Hogg and Martha Jane Starr, May 15 and June 3, 1950, Nelson-Atkins curatorial files.

Henry Bone, after George Engleheart, Mary Andalusia Thellusson (née Dickens), Lady Rendlesham, 1815 (1812), 4 5/8 x 3 3/8 in. (11.7 x 8.7 cm), acquired by Sir George Scharf, 1890, NPG D17707 © National Portrait Gallery, London.

Charles Turner, after George Engleheart, Mary Andalusia Thellusson (née Dickens), Lady Rendlesham, mid-19th century, mezzotint, plate: 14 x 10 in. (35.4 x 25.4 cm), paper: 17 1/4 x 11 7/8 in. (43.7 x 30.2 cm), Purchased with help from the Friends of the National Libraries and the Pilgrim Trust, 1966, NPG D39686 © National Portrait Gallery, London.

The Starr Foundation Collection of Miniatures, The Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, December 8, 1972–January 14, 1973, no cat., no. 75, as Unknown Lady.

Possibly George Williamson and Henry Engleheart, George Engleheart 1750–1829: Miniature Painter to George III (London: George Bell and Sons, 1902), 112.

Catalogue of Old English Silver, Also Miniatures, Objects of Vertu, Etc. (London: Sotheby’s, July 27, 1944), 13, as A Lady.

Catalogue of Objects of Vertu, Fine Watches, Etc., Including The Property of Mrs. W. D. Dickson; also Fine Portrait Miniatures Comprising The Property of Mrs. Kehoe (London: Sotheby’s, June 15, 1950), 18, as A Lady.

Ross E. Taggart, The Starr Collection of Miniatures in the William Rockhill Nelson Gallery (Kansas City, MO: Nelson Gallery-Atkins Museum, 1971), no. 75, p. 28, (repro.), as Unknown Lady.