- William Fermor
Frame: 48 1/4 × 38 1/8 in. (122.6 × 96.8 cm)
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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.
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