Lot 53: Jonathan Richardson English, circa 1664-1745 Portrait or Thomas Tufton, Sixth Earl of Thanet (1644-1729)

Jonathan Richardson
English, circa 1664-1745
Portrait or Thomas Tufton, Sixth Earl of Thanet (1644-1729)
Inscribed Thomas Earl of Thanet A'tat 75 (ur)
Oil on canvas
50 x 40 inches (127 x 101.5 cm)
Unframed
Provenance:
Lady Isabella Tufton (d. 1764)
By descent to Isabella Perceval, Third Countess of Egmont (d. 1821)
F. Braithwaite, London, Castle of Enmore Sale, Earl of Egmont, 7th July 1834 (lot 44)
Mary Louisa, Lady Mordaunt (1862-1947), Walton Hall, Warwick
Christies, London, May 13, 1948 (Lot 31 two in lot, 20gns, bt. Wiggins)
Private Institution, Ohio.
Thomas Tufton was the fourth son of John Tufton, Second Earl of Thanet and his wife Margaret Sackville. As grandson to Lady Anne Clifford he was heir to the Barony of Clifford and the vast estates in Cumberland and Westmorland and the castles of Appleby, Brougham, Brough and Pendragon. He represented Appleby in Parliament from 1688-79.
On August 14, 1684, he married Lady Catharine Cavendish (d. 1712), daughter of Henry Cavendish, Second Duke of Newcastle. They had eight children, but no surviving sons; as such his nephew Sackville Tufton, Seventh Earl of Thanet, succeeded him.
The "Good Earl,'' as he was known, enjoyed possession of his estates for forty-five years, earning £1,500 a year. He was a very charitable man, giving donations to schools, churches, and hospitals, especially to aid the poor of the parish. He preserved the castle at Skipton and considerably rebuilt Appleby, but Brough, Brougham and Pendragon castles were used as quarries or otherwise dismantled.


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