Lot 259: Hendrik Frans de Cort (Antwerp 1742-1810 London)

Hendrik Frans de Cort (Antwerp 1742-1810 London)
Capriccio landscape with a ruined abbey, the coast beyond
oil on panel
23¾ x 38 in. (65.4 x 96.5 cm.)

William Beckford (1760-1844), Fonthill Abbey, Wilt
Anonymous sale [John Farquhar (1751-1826), merchant and entrepreneur, Fonthill Abbey, Wiltshire]; Phillips, Fonthill Abbey, 15 October 1823 [=29th day], lot 328, asas 'De Cort', 'View of Fonthill Mansion, as erected by the late Alderman Beckford, on the verge of the Lake in the Park, after the destruction by fire of the ancient mansion, purchased by him with the estate-In no. 44' (23.12s. to Nixon).
Anonymous sale [possibly John Farquhar]; Philips, London, 9 July 1825 [=1st day], lot 86, as 'De Cort', 'The Fonthill Mansion, as erected by the late Alderman Beckford, after the destruction by fire of the Ancient Mansion'.
William Beckford, Lansdown Tower, Bath; (+), LKM, Bath, 25 November 1845 [=6th day], lot 325, as 'De Cort', 'A very highly-finished Landscape, with Ecclesiastical Ruins and Water. On Panel', 26 x 38 in. (probably unsold, and by descent to the following).
William Douglas-Hamilton, 12th Duke of Hamilton, 9th Duke of Brandon, 2nd Duke of Châtelherault (1845-1895), Hamilton Palace, Hamilton, South Lanarkshire; Christie's, London, 17 June 1882 [=1st day], lot 41, as 'H. De Cort', 'A Landscape, with a castle and ruined abbey', the dimensions inverted, 'From Fonthill', (28 gns. to Laurie).

VAT rate of 5% is payable on hammer price and at 17.5% on the buyer's premium.
The description given to this picture in the sales of 1823 and 1825, as being a 'View of Fonthill Mansion, as erected by the late Alderman Beckford, after the destruction by fire of the Ancient Mansion', must refer to the fire of 1755, which destroyed the buildings that were already on Fonthill estate when this was purchased by Alderman William Beckford (1709-1770), father of the collector William Beckford. This was the event which occasioned the construction of an expensive new house, which would be in turn demolished (partly because it was 'subject to frequent fogs' after an artificial lake was placed nearby), to make way for the celebrated Fonthill Abbey (see J. Rutter, Delineations of Fonthill and its Abbey, London, 1823, p. 107).

Hendrik Frans de Cort, an artist born and trained in Antwerp before entering the Académie in Paris and becoming painter to the Prince de Condé. Settling in London circa 1790, he gained success as a painter of specific English landscapes for the nobility and other important patrons. His invariable prefence for panel supports is evidenced by the present picture.