Lot 243: FREDERICK RICHARD SAY

FREDERICK RICHARD SAY LONDON 1817 - 1860 PORTRAIT OF CHARLES GREY, 2ND EARL GREY (1764-1845) oil on canvas 239 by 147.5 cm.; 94 by 58 in.

London, Royal Academy, 1833, no. 28

R. Ormond, Early Victorian Portraits, 1973, Vol. I, p. 203

Sir Robert Peel (1788-1850);
his sale, London, Robertson Fisher and Hardy, 6th-7th December 1917, lot 50;
According to the National Portrait Gallery Archives, the 6th Earl of Rosebery;
Anonymous sale, London, Sotheby's, 12th December 1956, lot 67

ENGRAVED:
by William Say, published by Ackermann, 1833

This distinguished portrait of the great statesman and Whig politician, Charles, 2υnd Earl Grey, is one of the artist's most important portraits. Owned by Sir Robert Peel, the conservative Prime Minister, the picture hung in his famous 'Gallery of Statesmen' at Drayton House, The son of the mezzotint engraver William Say, the younger Say became a successful portrait artist in London, and his other important sitter's included members of the Royal Family and other leading figures of the day.

Born into a prominent Northumberland family, the son of General Sir Charles Grey, later 1υst Earl Grey (1729-1807) the sitter's early political career was meteoric, and he quickly established a reputation as one of the foremost political orators of his generation. One of his most controversial decisions was the Reform Issue. Grey gave notice in the House of Commons on 30 April 1792 that he would present a motion for parliamentary reform in the next session, and he did so on 6 May 1793, basing his proposals on the petition drawn up by the Friends of the People which highlighted the extent of electoral patronage and influence, the small number of voters in many constituencies, and the lack of representation for newer commercial and industrial towns. The motion was lost by 282 votes to 41, a result which showed that only a minority of Grey's own party was prepared to follow him. Furthermore, when the Commons debated Grey's address to restore peace with France on 21 February 1793 he had little support from either side of the house and did not even force a division. The consequence was that the party split, only affection for Fox individually restraining Portland, Fitzwilliam, and the conservative element from immediately breaking away and joining Pitt. They eventually did so in July 1794. The same year he married Mary, daughter of William Ponsonby, later 1st Lord Ponsonby, and the marriage brought with it a close relationship with the Liberals in Ireland. By 1806 Grey's popularity was on the ascendance again when he was appointed First Lord of the Admiralty, under Charles James Fox. Following the latter's death Grey succeeded him as Whig leader and was promoted to Foreign Secretary. In 1808 he took his seat in the House of Lords, as 2υnd Earl Grey, and between 1830 and 1834 served as Prime Minister, after Wellington's government was defeated following the death of George IV, during which time the Reform Bill was eventually passed. This portrait was painted the following year and exhibited at the Royal Academy.