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Sir Joshua Reynolds, 'The Earl and Countess of Ely', about 1775

About the work

Henry Loftus, 1st Earl of Ely (1709–1783) was an Anglo-Irish politician who spent a fortune remodelling Rathfarnham Castle near Dublin. He married his second wife, Anne Bonfoy (1752–1821), in 1775 and commissioned the leading artist of the day, Sir Joshua Reynolds, to paint this portrait of the new couple.

Reynolds presents them wearing their finest clothes of silk, lace and silver braid in the earl’s costume. The countess’s extravagant headdress of ostrich plumes reveals that the occasion celebrated in the portrait is her presentation at the court of King George III and Queen Charlotte. The couple are shown strolling through the grounds of a country house with the background emphasising conventional gender roles. The classical architecture behind the earl suggests authority and learning while the landscape around the countess may indicate the natural harmony of marriage. Portraits of walking couples were popular in the 18th century. Another example in the National Gallery is Mr and Mrs William Hallett (‘The Morning Walk’) by Reynolds’s greatest rival, Thomas Gainsborough.

Conserved through the National Conservation Programme, generously supported by the Aldama Foundation.

Key facts

Full title
Portrait of Henry Loftus, 1st Earl of Ely and his wife Anne Bonfoy, Countess of Ely
Artist
Sir Joshua Reynolds
Artist dates
1723 - 1792
Date made
About 1775
Medium and support
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
241.5 × 181.5 cm
Acquisition credit
National Trust Collections, Upton House (Bearsted Collection)
Inventory number
L1402
Location
Room 34
Image copyright
National Trust Collections, Upton House (Bearsted Collection), © National Trust
Collection
Main Collection

About this record

If you know more about this work or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.

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