Lot 33: George Elgar Hicks, RBA (British, 1824-1914) The Duchess of St. Albans and son

George Elgar Hicks, RBA (British, 1824-1914)
The Duchess of St. Albans and son signed and indistinctly dated 'GE Hicks 1875' (lower left)oil on canvas91.4 x 71.1cm (36 x 28in).
ProvenanceAnon. sale, Christie's, London, 30 November 1990, lot 62.Private collection, UK.ExhibitedLondon, Royal Academy, 1878, no. 972.LiteratureArt Journal, 1878, p. 180.Grace Bernal-Osborne was the daughter of Sir Ralph Bernal-Osborne and Catherine Isabella Osborne. She married William Ameleus Aubrey de Vere Beauclerk, 10th Duke of St. Albans in 1874 and became the Duchess of St. Albans. Their son was born in October of the same year and was named Osbourne de Vere Beauclerk (12th Duke of St. Albans). They are the sitters of the present portrait, exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1878.As well as being a successful genre painter, George Elgar Hicks also painted numerous society portraits. Members of the Alban family had previously been painted by Sir Thomas Lawrence and William Beechey (who both depicted Harriet Beauclerk née Mellon, married to the 9th Duke of St. Albans).