Sir William Orpen: Portrait of Rosie, Fourth Marchioness of Headfort (£300,000-500,000). (The earrings in this portrait made 42,500 Swiss francs at Sotheby's in Geneva in 2011). Click on image to enlarge. UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR £577,250.
A scorching Orpen swagger portrait of Rosie, Fourth Marchioness of Headfort will highlight Sotheby’s sale of British and Irish art in London on May 10, 2012. It is one of two portraits of the 4th Marquis and Marchioness of Headfort by Sir William Orpen. Rose commissioned the portraits and they were almost invariably exhibited in the same exhibitions, although – save for one occasion at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool – not actually hung together. They were first exhibited at the Royal Academy in London in the 147th Summer Exhibition of 1915.
Sir William Orpen, R.A., R.H.A. (1878-1931). Portrait of Geoffrey, Fourth Marquis of Headfort (£60,000-80,000). Click on image to enlarge. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD.
Rose Boote, later 4th Marchioness of Headfort (1878-1958) was a Gaiety Girl who sang the part of Maisie ‘The Messenger Boy’ in 1900 under her professional name of Miss Rosie Boote. She was the daughter of a comedian from Nottingham and a straw hat sewer. ‘Gaiety Girls’ was the name given to the chorus line girls who sang in musical comedy spectacles at the Gaiety Theatre on the Strand, London.
The marriage surprised and intrigued Edwardian society. Even Queen Victoria was said to have commented. The Marquis was from one of the most prominent Protestant families in Ireland and Rose was a Catholic. He was one of the most eligible young men of the day who succeeded to the title and estates in Ireland totalling about 22,000 acres on the death of his father in 1894. After the marriage Rose left the theatre and lived at Headfort House in Ireland and in London. They had three children. He died in 1943, she lived until 1958. Never before on the market Portrait of Rosie, Fourth Marchioness of Headfort is estimated at £300,000-500,000 and Portrait of Geoffrey, Fourth Marquis of Headfort is estimated at £60,000-80,000. They came to Sotheby’s by family descent.
In 2012 Sotheby’s is re-designing its traditional auctions of Victorian and Edwardian Art, and Irish Art. These sales will be re-titled British and Irish Art: Victorian/Early 20th Century/Sporting/Marine/Scottish/Irish.