Attributed to George Romney, British 1734-1802, Portrait of Mrs Tickell, nee Sarah Ley, seated three-quarter length turned to the left in a landscape; oil on canvas, in a carved and gilded Louis XIII style frame, 134x106.5cm Provenance: By descent in the family of the sitter. This lot is accompanied with a copy of the following letter: Mrs Tickell by George Romney 1754-1802. I Have carefully examined this picture there can be no doubt that it is one of several attempts which Romney made at painting the portrait of this very beautiful woman. Most of these are described in my ''Catalogue Raisonne'' of Romney's works pp 157-8. Why Romney abandoned this canvas and started afresh with another it is now impossible to say. But he frequently did this sort of thing & this accounts for the existence of so many and often rich charming , partly finished versions in oils & many of his portraits. It was apparently easier for him to start de novo than to make extensive alterations on a canvas on which he had already practically finished the portrait. In this most attractive picture we have an example of what may be called Romney in the making. Mrs Tickell sat for Romney in 1791. She was a Miss Ley who married as his second wife Richard Tickell whose first wife was Miss Linley, painted by Gainsborough. Mrs Tickell secondly married J C Worthington Esq. She died in 1817. W Roberts London Dec 27 1929 Note: The sitter is traditionally held to be related by marriage to William Davey, depicted in the previous lot 551 in this sale, as his great granddaughter married the great great grandson of Henry Tickell Esq of Leytonstone.

carved and gilded frame in good condition canvas has been re-lined circa early 20th century wooden stretcher looks to be an early 20th century replacement stretcher bowed outwards slightly old repaired vertical tear to canvas lower centre in the arm of the sitter further old repaired tear to the left of the sitter's head paint surface subject to some old defects on the neck of the sitter some slight cracking to the pigment in the hair of the sitter under inspection with uv lamp there is no evidence of recent over-painting or restorations however, there are indications of older restorations beneath the varnish overall in good original condition with older restorations