Additional Images

Provenance:

Ex. Private Collection of David Angus Wanklyn (1900-1988), Montreal;
Consigned by him to the Dominion Gallery, Montreal, PQ., in January 1973, Inventory No. A6952; ;
Purchased by W.A. Ross MacFadden from the Dominion Gallery on October 6, 1973 as "Attributed to John Hoppner (1758-1810), “Portrait of a Young Lady” to gallery label verso, with another partial Dominion Gallery label to the bottom right stretcher verso;
Estate of W.A. Ross MacFadden, Toronto

Note:

To illustrate Mr. MacFadden's dogged academic approach in researching the artworks he acquired, his research file for this portrait contains an abundance of correspondence with galleries and museums outside Canada. In his search to identify the woman depicted, by October 1996 he had already made inquiries at several galleries and museums without success, namely: the Royal Academy; Victoria & Albert Museum, and the National Portrait Gallery in London, England as well as the Scottish National Portrait Gallery and the Aberdeen Art Gallery in Scotland and the Frick Art Reference Library and Cincinnati Art Museum to no avail.

On January 28, 1997, Mr. MacFadden wrote to The Bank House Gallery in Norfolk. He states he purchased the portrait from Dominion Gallery in 1973. The gallery also checked the files of the Witt Library in London. In 1972 and 1973, the previous collector, David A. Wanklyn, received negative reports from Christie, Manson & Woods (Canada) Ltd., and the National Portrait Gallery, London, that this portrait was in their opinion, not a fully Attributed work by the master.