Studio RT Ltd

Description

We are delighted to offer for sale this superb portrait pastel by the Victorian artist Maud Porter, who has signed the pastel to the left hand side and dated it 1902. This is a half-length portrait of the Honourable Hilda Caroline Chichester 17.12.1875- 2.2.61) in 1902 at the age of 27 years. She has her dark hair piled high on the top of her head, in the fashion of the time and is wearing a white dress with two lace edged frills around the bust and a lace frill on each sleeve. She has a corsage of white lillies.

She was the daughter of Harry Spencer Chichester, 2nd Baron Templemore and Lady Victoria Ashley. She went on to marry, in 1913, Sir Victor George Corkran K.C.V.O. She met her future husband when, in 1912, she became Extra Lady in Waiting to H.R.H. Princess Beatrice (1877-1944), the youngest daughter of Queen Victoria, a post she held until 1944, when Pricess Beatrice died. Sir Victor Corkran was the Comptroller of the Household of Princess Beatrice at Osborne House. In 1917, they had a daughter Beatrice Mary Lettice Corkran (1917-23.7.2004).

Maud Porter was a London portrait painter, who exhibited between 1888-1908. There a little biographical information known about her, only her exhibition history. She exhibited 23 paintings at The Royal Academy (19 of them portraits), 14 at The Royal Society of Portrait Painters, 3 at The Royal Oil Painters Institute, 6 at The Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool, 5 at The Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour, 1 at the New Gallery, 1 at The Manchester City Art Gallery and 2 at The Society of Women Artists.

There is one of her portraits in the National Collection, a portrait of Admiral Seymour in The Ministry of Defence Art Collection.

Her work seems to come to the market rarely, although in 2011, an oil portrait achieved £5,500 in the USA. Auction results for her work over the past 20 years may be found at artnet (7 listings), artprice (5) and findartinfo (3).

The painting has been expensively mounted in a custom painted mount and is framed in a 2" beaded and reeded gilt frame. It is ready to hang.

Medium Pastels