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Do you recognise this portrait, said to be of Mary, Countess of Abingdon?

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  • Do you recognise this portrait, said to be of Mary, Countess of Abingdon?



    The rather poor quality image above was a photo taken by a relative ca 1926 of a portrait, which, she said was "in the possession of E. Gould, Frome Billet, Howard Rd. Bournemouth."

    On the back of the photo she wrote:" Mary dau of James Gould M.O for Dorchester. Mary eldest dau of William Bond of Bestrall, Dorset; married, 1702, General Charles Churchill brother of the 1st Duke of Marlborough, secondly, 1717, at Beaconsfield, Montague Bertie 2nd Earl of Abingdon; accidentally burnt to death 1757. Left by her Will dated 3rd Mar. 1742 her personal & landed property to her kinsman Nicholas Gould of Frome Bellet; buried in St Peter's Church Dorchester."

    I am not concerned about any of the above information - it has long since been verified and placed with my FH notes. But I am intrigued by the portrait itself. I keep thinking I have seen a reference to the original elsewhere, but cannot find out more.

    Does anyone recognise this painting, verify that it is indeed the Countess of Abingdon, or point me in the direction of a colour reproduction?

    Beverley




  • #2
    Perhaps if you sent a copy over to the National Portrait Gallery they may be able to verify the portrait for you, http://www.npg.org.uk
    Vonny

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    • #3
      Thanks for that suggestion, Vonny -and also for the link. It would be worth a try

      Beverley



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      • #4
        I'm reminded of the film Belle and there is a portrait of the black girl with her white adopted sister. If memory serves me correctly, they are out in a garden with a stately home in the background so it's not this picture but they could have been painted more than once. Might the white girl be the same one I'm thinking of?

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        • #5
          Yes, I've seen that film and like you, noticed the similarity in the theme....but I am pretty sure the Murray family that raised Belle had no connections with my Goulds. I believe there were plenty of black servants/ slaves? in English households in the era, but have no idea how frequently they featured in portraiture.

          Beverley



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          • #6
            I put a combination of the themes in the portrait in to google images, I couldn't find yours unfortunately
            Elaine

            Looking for Ward, Moore, Hunt, Warren...and who was Gertrude Wills

            http://leicestermoores.tribalpages.com
            http://wardnottsleics.tribalpages.com

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            • #7
              Yes, Elaine, I also tried with as many descriptions as I could think of but nothing even similar came up. The original question implied it was a painting in private hands and as such it may not be known of in any public domain. Shame, its an interesting picture.
              Anne

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              • #8
                Hi
                I am sure I have seen this painting somewhere or one very similar. I remember thinking how ugly the little animal was, not sure if it is a dog or a lamb. Can you make out the writing in the top right hand corner?
                Moggie
                Last edited by maudarby; 28-04-15, 11:32.

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                • #9
                  Thanks to everyone who has taken a peep at this post and made suggestions.

                  Maudarby. I think the ugly little animal is meant to be a lamb.....it seems to have hoofs, rather than paws. I've enlarged the photo as much as possible and can't make out the writing.....wishful thinking made me believe I could see 'Mary Gould' somewhere in there. But any writing is likely to be irrelevant anyway as it was probably scribbled on the photo, than present on the original portrait.
                  Have emailed the National Portrait Gallery as suggested by Vonny...they may get back to me in twenty days :D

                  I could show you the writing on the back of the photo, if that was useful, but it only says what I put in the original post. Wish OH's aunt was still alive, as she was responsible for the photo. :(

                  Beverley



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