Pompeo Batoni
William Fermor

ArtistItalian (Roman), 1708–1787
CultureItalian
Titles
  • William Fermor
Date1758
PlaceRome, Italy
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsCanvas: 39 1/8 × 29 in. (99.4 × 73.7 cm)
Frame: 48 1/4 × 38 1/8 in. (122.6 × 96.8 cm)
Credit LineThe Samuel H. Kress Collection, frame purchased with funds provided by the Museum Collectors
Object number61.76
Non exposé

Explore Further

Object Type
Description

Pompeo Batoni was the most celebrated painter in Rome in his day. For nearly half a century Batoni recorded the visits to Rome of international travelers on the Grand Tour in portraits that remain among the most memorable artistic accomplishments of the period. His paintings were especially popular among English visitors to Italy: Lady Anna Riggs Miller's declaration that he was "esteemed the best portrait painter in the world" is typical of contemporary views on his talent. This portrait of William Fermor in a red velvet coat lined with lynx (a type worn in winter by the British in Italy) demonstrates Batoni's ability to create a striking and memorable likeness.


"When I went to Rome, the Italian artists of that day thought of nothing, looked at nothing, but the work of Pompeo Batoni." —American painter Benjamin West


ProvenanceWilliam Fermor (d. 1806); by inheritance to his eldest son, William Fermor (d. 1828); by inheritance to his illegitimate daughter, Maria, and her husband, John Turner Ramsay (d. 1840) of Tusmore Park, Oxfordshire, England; by inheritance to their daughter, Philippa Maria Ramsay (d. 1853 without issue); Baroness Donington, née Maud Kemble (1847-1947), 47 Eaton Square, London; probably to her daughter, Hon. Irene Mary Egidia Clifton-Hastings-Campbell (1898-1961); Hon. Mrs. Emmott; [Christie's, April 2, 1948, lot 69]; Young; A. B. Ramsay (1872-1955), Cambridge, England; [Leggatt Brothers, London]; [Sotheby's, May 7, 1952, lot 111]; [David Koetser Gallery, New York, by 1953]; The Samuel H. Kress Foundation, New York, February 20, 1953; given to MFAH, 1961.
Exhibition History"A Gift to America: Masterpieces of European Painting from the Samuel H. Kress Collection," North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, February 5–April 24, 1994; The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, May 17–August 7, 1994; Seattle Art Museum, September 8–November 27, 1994; The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, December 17, 1994–March 4, 1995.

“Masterpieces of European Painting from the 15th to 20th Centuries from The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and the Sarah Campbell Blaffer Foundation," The Museum of Art, Ehime, Matsuyama, Japan, April 13–May 30, 1999; Chiba Prefectural Art Museum, Japan, June 5–July 11, 1999; Mie Prefectural Art Museum, Tsu, Japan, July 17–August 22, 1999; Fukuoka Art Museum, Japan, August 27–October 3, 1999.

"Patrons Choice: The Silver Anniversary of The Museum Collectors, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston," The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, September 18, 2004–January 30, 2005.

"Pompeo Batoni: Prince of Painters in Eighteenth-Century Rome," The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, October 21, 2007–January 27, 2008.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
Inscribed on verso:"Pompeo Battoni Fecit 1758"

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

If you have questions about this work of art or the MFAH Online Collection please contact us.

Martijn Gaertz
Isaack Luttichuijs
1656
Oil on canvas
2001.84
Portrait of Anthony Chamier
Sir Joshua Reynolds
1762–1764
Oil on canvas
44.527
Academic Nude
Pompeo Batoni
1765
Black chalk with white chalk on blue-gray prepared laid paper
94.1051
This image to be used for all electronic media (website, social media, email)
Eugène Delacroix
c. 1832–34
Oil on canvas
2019.274
Academic Nude
Pompeo Batoni
1765
Black chalk with white chalk on blue-gray prepared laid paper
94.1050
The Return of Orestes
Anton von Maron
1786
Oil on canvas
99.307
A View of the Roman Countryside
Jean-Achille Benouville
1848
Oil on canvas
99.480