Lot 40: Ellen Sharples (British, 1769-1849)

Portrait of Lady William Cavendish-Bentinck (c.1783-1843)
pastel
24 x 20 cm. (9 1/2 x 8 in.)

Née Lady Mary Acheson, the sitter was the daughter of the first Earl of Gosford. She married Lt. Gen. Lord William Bentinck in 1803 who was Governor of Madras and then minister to the King of Sicily. In 1833, he became the first Governor General of Bengal. Charles Grenville describes Lady Cavendish-Bentinck as
'overflowing with affections, sympathies and kindness, not only perfectly unselfish, but with a scrupulous fear, carried to exaggeration, of trespassing upon the ease or convenience of others...She was gentle and cheerful, and without being clever, was one of those people everyone likes.'