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Charles Russell, Baron Russell of Killowen by John Singer Sargent.

A portrait of the distinguished Irish lawyer and statesman, Charles Russell, Baron Russell of Killowen, by John Singer Sargent comes up at Bonhams 19th Century European, Victorian and British Impressionist Art sale in London on March 1. It is estimated at £60,000-80,000. Russell (1832-1900) was regarded as the finest advocate of his age. In 1888-89, he successfully defended Charles Stewart Parnell against false allegations that he had condoned the Phoenix Park Killings, in which the Chief Secretary for Ireland, Lord Frederick Cavendish, and the Permanent Under-Secretary for Ireland Thomas Burke were stabbed to death in 1882. He was a close associate of the Liberal leader Gladstone and a fellow supporter of Home Rule for Ireland.  He was appointed Lord Chief Justice of England, the first Catholic to hold the post.

Sargent’s portrait was painted in 1900, the year of Russell’s sudden death and is being sold with the painter’s correspondence with the sitter. It has been in the Russell family ever since.  Another version of the Sargent portrait hangs in the National Portrait Gallery in London. Bonhams Director of 19th Century Paintings, Charles O’Brien, said, “Russell was a key figure in political, legal and diplomatic life in the last quarter of the 19^th century when Britain was arguably at the height of her global standing. Sargent’s use of contrasting light and dark creates an image of a strong, capable, rather stern man, that perfectly conveys Russell’s great eminence.”

UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR £125,000