John Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl Spencer, Portrait by Henry Pierce Bone

Henry Pierce Bone
British | 1779-1855

John Charles Spencer, Viscount Althorp, 3rd Earl Spencer

Signed and dated “HPBone, 1835” and inscribed (en verso)
Enamel on copper

This incredibly detailed portrait of Viscount Althorp, 3rd Earl Spencer, was painted by renowned miniaturist and enamel painter Henry Pierce Bone. Commissioned by the Earl Spencer himself in 1835, this portrait is one of the very few that Bone executed from life, rather than from an existing portrait. One of Bone’s most visionary and impeccably crafted portraits, this portrait was selected for exhibition at the Royal Academy the year it was created.

The Earl Spencer appears in this portrait as Chancellor of the Exchequer, a prestigious position he held from 1830-34. He is cloaked in his sumptuous black and gold chancellor’s robes that drape over a fine black suit. Further markers of his wealth and status abound across the interior scene, from the luxurious red velvet curtains and his silver inkwell stand to the idyllic view of Green Park from Spencer House in the background. He stands beside a marvelous George II giltwood table designed by revered Scottish architect James “Athenian” Stuart for the Great Room at Spencer House. Both this table and a simpler, earlier enamel miniature of the Earl Spencer by Henry Pierce Bone still belong to the Spencer Collection at Althorp House today.

John Charles Spencer (1782-1845), 3rd Earl Spencer, PC, DL, FRS (styled Viscount Althorp from 1783-1834), was an important British statesman, abolitionist and member of the illustrious Spencer family, making him an ancestor of the beloved Princess Diana. He was Chancellor of the Exchequer under Lord Grey and Lord Melbourne from 1830 to 1834, and was fondly known as “Honest Jack” for his strong will and integrity. In this portrait, Spencer’s hand rests on a document entitled “Amendment of the Poor Laws,” one of the constitutional reforms which he felt was “the great aim and object of his political life.”

Henry Pierce Bone was the eldest son and pupil of the enamel painter Henry Bone RA (1755-1834). He entered the Royal Academy School at the age of 16, after being under the tutelage of his father. Upon his father’s death in 1834, Henry Pierce Bone began producing successful enamel copies of Old Masters and portraits of the Spencer family, some of which were originals painted from life. After his father, he too earned the prestigious appointment of enamel painter to Queen Adelaide, Victoria, Duchess of Kent, and subsequently to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.

An inscription on the enamel’s reverse reads: “John Charles Earl Spencer Viscount Althorp, later Chancellor of the Exchequer London Feby. 1835. Painted from Life by Henry Pierce Bone Enamel Painter to Her Majesty and their Royal Highnesses the Duchess of Kent & Princess Victoria.”

Painted 1835

Plate: 14" high x 9 3/4" wide (35.56 x 24.77 cm)
Frame: 20" high x 15 7/8" wide x 2 1/8" deep (50.80 x 40.32 x 5.40 cm)

Provenance:
Commissioned by John Charles, Viscount Althorp, later 3rd Earl Spencer (1782-1845)
Thence by descent
The Spencer House Sale, Christie's London, 8 July 2010, lot 1065
The Twinight Collection, New York
M.S. Rau, New Orleans

Exhibited:
London, Royal Academy, 1835, no. 436, as Viscount Althorp (now Earl Spencer) Chancellor of the Exchequer, - enamel, from the life H.P. Bone
London, South Kensington Museum, Special Exhibition of Portrait Miniatures, June 1865, no. 1336 (lent by the Earl Spencer)