Mrs. Thomas Pechell (Charlotte Clavering, died 1841)

The sitter was the younger daughter of Lieutenant General Sir James John Clavering, commander in chief in India, and his wife, born Lady Diana West. She married Thomas Pechell in 1783 and they had two sons and a daughter. Pechell was the son of Lieutenant Colonel Sir Paul Pechell, first Baronet. In 1799, when Hoppner painted the couple, Thomas was a major in the army. He succeeded his father in 1800, and assumed the additional surname of Brooke the following year, in compliance with his mother’s will. In 1814 he was promoted to major general.

This picture and its pendant (The Met 46.13.3), thickly painted, are among the few pairs from Hoppner’s late years. Both sitters look out, engaging with the viewer, while the elegant, restricted tonality of this work contrasts with the more varied palette of the other. The portrait is in fairly good state, despite the presence of some drying cracks and an old repair in the background at the upper right center.

[2010; adapted from Baetjer 2009]

the sitter's husband, Major General Sir Thomas Brooke Pechell, 2nd Baronet, Paglesham, Essex (until d. 1826); by descent to Sir Alfred Plantagenet Frederick Charles Somerset, Enfield Court, Middlesex (in 1909); [Sulley and Co., London, until 1929; sold to Scott & Fowles]; [Scott & Fowles, New York, 1929–30; sold to Neilson]; Mrs. Francis (Helen Swift) Neilson, Chicago (1930–d. 1945)

Pittsburgh. Carnegie Institute. "A Survey of British Paintings," May 10–June 12, 1938, no. 46 (as Lady Charlotte Pechell, lent by Mrs. Francis Neilson).

New York. University Club. October 13, 1948–March 20, 1949.

Palm Beach. Society of the Four Arts. "European Masters of the XVII and XVIII Centuries," January 13–February 5, 1950, no. 14 (as "Charlotte, Lady Brooke-Pechell").

Southampton, N.Y. Parrish Art Museum. "Paintings from the Collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art," July 22–August 18, 1954, unnumbered cat.

New York. Wildenstein & Co., Inc. "Masters of Seven Centuries," March 1–31, 1962, no. 23.

William McKay and W[illiam]. Roberts. John Hoppner, R.A. London, 1909, p. 200, date the picture 1799 and mention that it belonged to Colonel Sir Alfred Plantagenet Somerset.

Josephine L. Allen and Elizabeth E. Gardner. A Concise Catalogue of the European Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1954, p. 49.

John Human Wilson. "The Life and Work of John Hoppner (1758–1810)." PhD diss., Courtauld Institute of Art, London, 1992, vol. 1, pp. 215–16; vol. 2, fig. 71, notes that this portrait and its pendant are among the few pairs from Hoppner's late years.

Katharine Baetjer. European Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art by Artists Born Before 1865: A Summary Catalogue. New York, 1995, p. 199, ill.

Katharine Baetjer. British Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1575–1875. New York, 2009, pp. 196–97, no. 96, ill. (color).

Inscribed (on back of canvas): Painted by / Hoppner of London / 1799 / Charlotte Lady Brooke Pechell / Daughter of / Genl. Sir John Clavering K.B. / by the Lady Diana West / and Wife of / Major Genl. Sir Thos. Brooke Pechell Bart.