Studio RT Ltd

Description

We are delighted to offer this beautiful pastel portrait of Frances Blanche Mackenzie at the age of 13, by the artist R. Rigard. The pastel is unsigned but on the back bears the attribution to R. Rigaud and an older label dating the portrait to 1894 and giving the name and age of the sitter. Obviously, as we have not had access to the original mount and frame, we cannot confirm this. This pastel is a head and shoulders portrait of Frances, wearing a white dress, with a pink bow beneath the collar, and she has a matching bow at the top of her head, holding her long wavy hair back from her face.

We could find no information on a R. Rigaud, but did find in Benezit a French pastellist named Emilie Rigaud, who was exhibiting at the Paris Salon 1864-1878, and who we found one portrait by, of a young girl. Unfortunately, there was no illustration for us to compare the work, but R. Rigard may be a relative of Emilie, or the initial may have been misread.

We did, however, find information on Frances Blanche Mackenzie, who was born in 1882 in Richmond, Surrey. According to Census records, the family was living in Hartley Wintney in 1891 and by 1901, in Chiswick, West London. In 1904 Frances married Shelley Albert Stammwitz, who was also born in Richmond in 1880. In 1911, they were living at 241 Upper Richmond Road, Wandsworth. Her husband Shelley (1880-1945) was an electro therapist, who had a practice at 310 Regent Street, London W1. They had four children, Sylvia May, Alan Francis Bertie, Hugh Shelley and Geoffrey. Alan Francis Bertie Stammwitz (1906-1975) was well known in the chess world and was an official of the British Chess Federation, Sylvia May (1910-1989never married and died in Exeter, Geoffrey C. (1919-?) went to the West Coast of Africa in 1948 and Hugh Shelley (1912-?) was awarded the British Empire Medal for Gallantry in1942 on the Island of Malta. Frances Blanche Stammwitz died in a nursing home in Twickenham in 1961.

The pastel is mounted in an oval gilt mount and has a relatively modern 1 5/8" gilt frame and slip. It will be supplied wired and ready to hang.

Image size 20" x 16" - 50.75cm x 40.65cm

Frame size 26 3/4" x 22 5/8" - 68cm x 57.5cm

Medium Pastels

Condition Very good. The frame is in very good condition with only very minor wear.