The Hartley Children

between 1781 and 1783

George Romney English, 1734-1802

On View

British, Level 3, South Wing

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About the Artwork

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Markings

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Provenance

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Exhibition History

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Published References

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Catalogue Raisonné

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About the Artwork

Title The Hartley Children

Artwork Date between 1781 and 1783

Artist George Romney

Life Dates 1734-1802

Nationality Please note: Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events. Some definitions include: Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation. English

Culture Please note: Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group. Unknown

Medium Oil on canvas

Dimensions Unframed: 62 × 46 7/8 inches (157.5 × 119.1 cm) Framed: 70 1/4 × 55 3/8 × 4 3/4 inches (178.4 × 140.7 × 12.1 cm)

Classification Paintings

Department European Painting

Credit Bequest of Edward F. Fisher

Accession Number This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection. Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings. For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups. 73.102

Markings

Inscriptions ------

Provenance

commissioned by Samuel Hartley (Lansdown Priory, near Bath, England)

by descent to Winchcombe Henry Eyre-Hartley [d. 1847] (Rome, Italy)

by descent to his daughter, Mrs. William Hunter Little [d. 1891] (Llanvair Grants, Monmouthshire, England)

by descent to her son, Colonel William Hunter Buller Little

by 1895, Arthur Sanderson (England)

Otto Kahn

(Lord Duveen, London, England)

by 1912, Lord Michelham, K.C.V.O.

November 23-24, 1926, Michelam sale (Hampton) lot 291

Colnaghi (London, England)

1928, (Howard Young Galleries, New York, New York, USA)

1929, purchased by Edward F. Fisher (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

1973-present, bequest to the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

For more information on provenance and its important function in the museum, please visit:

Provenance page

Exhibition History

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The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.

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Published References

Exhibition. Exh. cat., Guildhall. London, 1892, no. 122a. [as "Portraits of Three Children in a landscape," lent by Major J. H. Little]

Fair Children. Exh. cat., Grafton Galleries. London, 1895, no. 141. [lent by Arthur Sanderson.]

"An Account of Mr. Sanderson's Pictures." Art Journal (1897): p. 37.

Romney. Exh. cat., Grafton Galleries. London, 1900, no. 53. [lent by Arthur Sanderson.]

Ward, H. and W. Roberts. Romney. New York, 1904, vol. 1, p. 95 and vol. 2, p. 92.

Lane, W. and N. Browne, eds. Portrait Index. Washington D.C., 1906, p. 879.

Works of Art in the Collection of Lord Michelham. 1912, p. 6.

Fifth Loan Exhibition of Old and Modern Masters. Exh. cat., Detroit Institute of Arts. Detroit, 1927, pp. 37-38, cat. 68. [lent by Mr. & Mrs. Edward F. Fisher-entry by W. Heil.]

"Notes of the Month." International Studio 93, no. 386 (July 1929): 55–61, pp. 60–61 (ill.).

Valentiner, W.R., ed. Masterpieces of Art. Exh. cat., World's Fair. New York, 1939, no. 319, p. 156.

Valentiner, William R. and Alfred M. Frankfurther. Masterpieces of Art: Exhibition at the New York World's Fair 1939, Official Souvenir Guide and Picture Book. Exh. cat., New York World's Fair. New York, 1939, p. 14, no. 110.

Maclean-Eltham, Barry. George Romney Paintings in Public Collections, The Romney Society. Kendal, Cumbria, 1996, p. 40. [dated ca. 1780]

Secrest, Meryle. Duveen: a life in art. New York, 2004, p. 485.

Penny, Nicholas and Karen Serres. "Duveen's French frames for British Pictures." Burlington Magazine 151, no. 1275 (June 2009): 388–394, p. 388, note 3. [as "The Bowden Children"]

Kidson, Alex. George Romney: A Complete Catalogue of His Paintings, vol. 1. New Haven, 2015, p. 287, no. 617 (ill.).

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