shown half actual size

Miss Molesworth by Ozias Humphry,
watercolor and graphite on paper, signed & dated 1783.

Hon. Louisa Molesworth was born on 23 October 1749 in Dublin, Ireland, the daughter of Richard Molesworth, 3rd Viscount Molesworth of Swords. In 1769, she married William Brabazon Ponsonby, 1st Baron Ponsonby of Imokilly.  She was widowed in 1806.  In 1823, At the age of 73, Louisa  married William Fitzwilliam, 4th Earl Fitzwilliam, at Bishopscourt, County Kildare, Ireland.  Louisa died a year after her second marriage at age 74. She was buried in the Fitzwilliam Vault, Marholm.

Set in a Regency frame, possibly original or second, retaining the label of Paul & Dominic Colnaghi & Co. The Colnaghis were printsellers to the Prince Regent. Now conservation mounted with museum glass. The drawing is inscribed on the reverse, visible through the paper: Mifs Molesworth/ O:H: 1783 - .

8 inches (25 cm) high. Frame: 13 1/4 inches high.

Ozias Humphry, R.A. (1742-1810) was acknowledged by Mrs. Foskett as "...undoubtedly one of the best miniaturists of the eighteenth century." On the advice of Sir Joshua Reynolds, Humphry moved to London to study art at the age of fifteen. Graham Reynolds noted Humphry's "especial affinity with Reynolds," going on to point out that "Humphry's ambition to be an oil painter is apparent in his miniatures...the purpurean depth of his colouring springs from the same ambition." In 1760, he was apprenticed to Samuel Collins in Bath, taking over his practice in 1762. By 1764, Humphry was established in London, exhibiting and becoming a member of the Society of Artists. With George Romney, Humphry toured Italy from 1773-1777. Humphry exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1779-1797, and was elected a member in 1791. Eager to make the fortune he had heard other artists were earning, Humphry worked in India from 1785-1787, returning to London disenchanted. Quickly reestablishing himself, Humphry's active studio provided work for students William Singleton, Richard Collins, Thomas Day and Henry Spicer. Humphry's distinguished clientele included his patron, the Duke of Dorset, the Ladies Waldegrave, both Pitt and Fox, the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire and the Royal Family.