Portrait of Jane Wood in a Pink Dress c.1750, Fine Carved and Gilded Frame
By John Theodore Heins (1697-1756)
This work formed part of an ancient collection of family heirlooms of the Wood family of Bracon Ash, Norfolk. This painting, along with another (also with Titan Fine Art at the time of writing), of our sitter’s sister, descended within the family for around 275 years until recently dispersed; they are exquisite examples of Georgian portraiture in England and represents the best of the artist’s work. They are held in their original carved and gilded frames, which are absolute top quality and condition and magnificent works of art in their own right. The sitter’s daughter, Ann, was famously married on board the Foudroyant, off Naples, in a lavish ceremony in 1799, with Lord Nelson himself giving away the bride.
The sitter is Jane Wood. Her father was Thomas Wood (1682-176) and Dorothy Huby (1700-1759) and the family lived in Norwich, which in 1720 was a city second in importance only to London. Jane was baptised 14 Oct 1727 at Bracon Ash and had many siblings. Her aunt, also Jane (died in 1756 in Bruges, aged 79) was a Franciscan nun. A portrait of her younger sister, Dorothy Wood (1730-1759), is also with Titan Fine Art at the time of writing.
In 1758 Jane married Knipe Gobbet (1730/5-1791) who was Sheriff in 1768 (and Mayor in 1771) of the City of Norwich, and later Lieutenant-Colonel of the West Norfolk Regiment, in which corps he had served in for many years. Knipe was born at his family seat, Tacolneston Hall, to parents George Gobbet (Sheriff in 1710) and Ann. The couple bought and lived in a house in Norwich (later known as Gurney’s Bank House) until 1778 before moving to another one at 10 St Stephen’s Street, Norwich. Later, they inherited the family seat of Tacolnestan Hall and lived there for the remainder of their lives.
Knipe Gobbet was a prominent individual. In 1779 he gave the corporation of Norwich 100 pounds to be disposed of as they might think proper and soon after that he was presented with a handsome field tent, marquee, and camp equipage, in testimony of their esteem for his dedication to the defence and service of this country at a time when threatened by an invasion.
Although Jane was baptised a Roman Catholic Knipe was a prominent local wine merchant, JP, Alderman, sheriff, mayor and Lieutenant. Roman Catholics may have paid lip service to religious conformity as they were excluded from certain areas of public life before the Catholic Emancipation Act of 1829.
The couple had many children, most of which were schooled at the Order of the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady, in Paris. Their oldest daughter, Anne (1760-1817) first married Peter Bottalini of London 27 Oct 1783 at Tacolneston Hall. They had one son together. She later met Dr William Compton (1733- 1824), who was Chancellor of Ely and the next collateral male relation to the Earl of Northampton, and on 9th July 1799, they married in a famous and lavish ceremony on board the Foudroyant, off Naples, where the bride was given away by the Right Hon. Lord Nelson himself (Ann and William then spent many years on the continent where they were British residents of Posilipo Naples).
The marriage document, signed by Lord Nelson, Lady Emma Hamilton, Captain Thomas Hardy, and others descended within the family, until sold in a recent sale that raised worldwide interest. It accounts: 'This is to certify that, on board the Foudroyant lying in Naples Bay, on the ninth of July 1799 the marriage between William Compton & Mrs Anne Bottalin, widow, was solemnized by me S. G. Comyn HM. Chaplain to the Right Honble Lord Nelson, H.M.S. Foudroyant, in the presence of'. With the following autograph signatures: Sir William Hamilton (1731-1803), Lady Emma Hamilton (1765-1815), Horatio Nelson, Viscount Nelson (1758-1805); Sir John Thomas Duckworth (1747-1817), Sir Thomas Masterman Hardy (1769-1839), John Rushout, 2nd Baron Northwick (1769-1859), Josiah Nisbet (1780-1830), John Tyson, William Compton and Anne Bottalin, and 2 others”
The document sheds light on Nelson's lesser-known side of his character. William Compton ... received "a great many favours and kindnesses" from Nelson, and most especially "the kind interest" taken in sealing his union with a wife who made him "the happiest of mortals". Anne, the aforesaid spouse, said that the admiral's "good heart" had made her "as happy as I can possibly be on this earth" ... Midshipman Parsons remembered those days nostalgically, noting Emma's "graceful form" bending over her harp to bestow "heavenly music" upon the diners on the quarterdeck and the large-decked galley, flush with opera singers, that glided alongside to serenade the sunset of each day'.
Our sitter’s other children were: 1) Thomas, who died in 1762, aged four, of a small-pox inoculation, 2) Dorothy (died suddenly of apoplexy 21st Nov 1813). She came to the convent 19th July 1777 and returned to England 23 March 1779, 3) Frances (baptised 22 Feb 1763), who came to the convent when she was nine years old, and eventually married and her surname became Negri, 4) Jane, is thought to have married Juan Manuel Martinez in 1784, 5) and a further possible daughter, Mary.
Jane died in 1790 and her husband one year later.
Tacolneston has an ancient history of which according to the Domesday Book, Edward I granted a weekly market to be held on a Wednesday at the manor of Tacolneston and two annual fairs. The church was rebuilt in 1503 and is dedicated to All Saints. The earliest view of Tacolneston is a print of 1781 when it belonged to Knipe Gobbet Esq.
John Theodore Heins (1697-1756) was a painter whose work, at his best, shows detail of an exceptionally high quality. His portraits of Anna Maria Kett nee Phillips and her husband Henry Kett, painted in 1741, are exceptional and evidence that he had the ability to portray a likeness on par with some of the best portraitists in England at the time.
Heins appears to have originated in Germany but moved to the UK and settled in Norwich around 1720. From 1720 to his death in 1756, Heins built up a fine reputation as a portrait painter and painted many members of prominent Norfolk families right up to his last year. He was commissioned in 1732 to paint a portrait of the Mayor of Norwich, Francis Arnam and also the previous year's Mayor Robert Marsh. After this Heins received regular commissions to paint Mayors and other civil dignitaries. By far the majority of his sitters are residents in Norfolk and neighbouring counties Cambridgeshire and Suffolk but he may also have received commissions from the West Country, as he is considered to have painted the portrait of Mr Gerard Hartopp, Governor of Plymouth and a collection of portraits of the Enys family who lived near Penryn in Cornwall. There are many examples of his portraits in Museums.
Heins may have had some influence on the artist Thomas Gainsborough (1727-1788). There is no record to confirm this but Heins painted some of Gainsborough's earlier relations and hence Gainsborough must have been familiar with these portraits.
It is believed that Heins died in Norwich 10 August, 1756, aged about 59 years. He had continued painting right up until his death. He had a wife called Abigail, a daughter and a son with the same name, John Theodore Heins Jr (1732c to 1771), who also became a portrait painter.
This is a fine example of portraiture from the mid-eighteenth century.
Provenance:
By direct descent from the sitter to her daughter;
Ann Compton (nee Wood), then by direct descent to the present owner
Measurements:
Height 94cm, Width 83.5cm framed (Height 37”, Width 33” framed)
£10,250
€ 11,950 (approximate export price)
$ 12,850 (approximate export price)
By John Theodore Heins (1697-1756)
This work formed part of an ancient collection of family heirlooms of the Wood family of Bracon Ash, Norfolk. This painting, along with another (also with Titan Fine Art at the time of writing), of our sitter’s sister, descended within the family for around 275 years until recently dispersed; they are exquisite examples of Georgian portraiture in England and represents the best of the artist’s work. They are held in their original carved and gilded frames, which are absolute top quality and condition and magnificent works of art in their own right. The sitter’s daughter, Ann, was famously married on board the Foudroyant, off Naples, in a lavish ceremony in 1799, with Lord Nelson himself giving away the bride.
The sitter is Jane Wood. Her father was Thomas Wood (1682-176) and Dorothy Huby (1700-1759) and the family lived in Norwich, which in 1720 was a city second in importance only to London. Jane was baptised 14 Oct 1727 at Bracon Ash and had many siblings. Her aunt, also Jane (died in 1756 in Bruges, aged 79) was a Franciscan nun. A portrait of her younger sister, Dorothy Wood (1730-1759), is also with Titan Fine Art at the time of writing.
In 1758 Jane married Knipe Gobbet (1730/5-1791) who was Sheriff in 1768 (and Mayor in 1771) of the City of Norwich, and later Lieutenant-Colonel of the West Norfolk Regiment, in which corps he had served in for many years. Knipe was born at his family seat, Tacolneston Hall, to parents George Gobbet (Sheriff in 1710) and Ann. The couple bought and lived in a house in Norwich (later known as Gurney’s Bank House) until 1778 before moving to another one at 10 St Stephen’s Street, Norwich. Later, they inherited the family seat of Tacolnestan Hall and lived there for the remainder of their lives.
Knipe Gobbet was a prominent individual. In 1779 he gave the corporation of Norwich 100 pounds to be disposed of as they might think proper and soon after that he was presented with a handsome field tent, marquee, and camp equipage, in testimony of their esteem for his dedication to the defence and service of this country at a time when threatened by an invasion.
Although Jane was baptised a Roman Catholic Knipe was a prominent local wine merchant, JP, Alderman, sheriff, mayor and Lieutenant. Roman Catholics may have paid lip service to religious conformity as they were excluded from certain areas of public life before the Catholic Emancipation Act of 1829.
The couple had many children, most of which were schooled at the Order of the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady, in Paris. Their oldest daughter, Anne (1760-1817) first married Peter Bottalini of London 27 Oct 1783 at Tacolneston Hall. They had one son together. She later met Dr William Compton (1733- 1824), who was Chancellor of Ely and the next collateral male relation to the Earl of Northampton, and on 9th July 1799, they married in a famous and lavish ceremony on board the Foudroyant, off Naples, where the bride was given away by the Right Hon. Lord Nelson himself (Ann and William then spent many years on the continent where they were British residents of Posilipo Naples).
The marriage document, signed by Lord Nelson, Lady Emma Hamilton, Captain Thomas Hardy, and others descended within the family, until sold in a recent sale that raised worldwide interest. It accounts: 'This is to certify that, on board the Foudroyant lying in Naples Bay, on the ninth of July 1799 the marriage between William Compton & Mrs Anne Bottalin, widow, was solemnized by me S. G. Comyn HM. Chaplain to the Right Honble Lord Nelson, H.M.S. Foudroyant, in the presence of'. With the following autograph signatures: Sir William Hamilton (1731-1803), Lady Emma Hamilton (1765-1815), Horatio Nelson, Viscount Nelson (1758-1805); Sir John Thomas Duckworth (1747-1817), Sir Thomas Masterman Hardy (1769-1839), John Rushout, 2nd Baron Northwick (1769-1859), Josiah Nisbet (1780-1830), John Tyson, William Compton and Anne Bottalin, and 2 others”
The document sheds light on Nelson's lesser-known side of his character. William Compton ... received "a great many favours and kindnesses" from Nelson, and most especially "the kind interest" taken in sealing his union with a wife who made him "the happiest of mortals". Anne, the aforesaid spouse, said that the admiral's "good heart" had made her "as happy as I can possibly be on this earth" ... Midshipman Parsons remembered those days nostalgically, noting Emma's "graceful form" bending over her harp to bestow "heavenly music" upon the diners on the quarterdeck and the large-decked galley, flush with opera singers, that glided alongside to serenade the sunset of each day'.
Our sitter’s other children were: 1) Thomas, who died in 1762, aged four, of a small-pox inoculation, 2) Dorothy (died suddenly of apoplexy 21st Nov 1813). She came to the convent 19th July 1777 and returned to England 23 March 1779, 3) Frances (baptised 22 Feb 1763), who came to the convent when she was nine years old, and eventually married and her surname became Negri, 4) Jane, is thought to have married Juan Manuel Martinez in 1784, 5) and a further possible daughter, Mary.
Jane died in 1790 and her husband one year later.
Tacolneston has an ancient history of which according to the Domesday Book, Edward I granted a weekly market to be held on a Wednesday at the manor of Tacolneston and two annual fairs. The church was rebuilt in 1503 and is dedicated to All Saints. The earliest view of Tacolneston is a print of 1781 when it belonged to Knipe Gobbet Esq.
John Theodore Heins (1697-1756) was a painter whose work, at his best, shows detail of an exceptionally high quality. His portraits of Anna Maria Kett nee Phillips and her husband Henry Kett, painted in 1741, are exceptional and evidence that he had the ability to portray a likeness on par with some of the best portraitists in England at the time.
Heins appears to have originated in Germany but moved to the UK and settled in Norwich around 1720. From 1720 to his death in 1756, Heins built up a fine reputation as a portrait painter and painted many members of prominent Norfolk families right up to his last year. He was commissioned in 1732 to paint a portrait of the Mayor of Norwich, Francis Arnam and also the previous year's Mayor Robert Marsh. After this Heins received regular commissions to paint Mayors and other civil dignitaries. By far the majority of his sitters are residents in Norfolk and neighbouring counties Cambridgeshire and Suffolk but he may also have received commissions from the West Country, as he is considered to have painted the portrait of Mr Gerard Hartopp, Governor of Plymouth and a collection of portraits of the Enys family who lived near Penryn in Cornwall. There are many examples of his portraits in Museums.
Heins may have had some influence on the artist Thomas Gainsborough (1727-1788). There is no record to confirm this but Heins painted some of Gainsborough's earlier relations and hence Gainsborough must have been familiar with these portraits.
It is believed that Heins died in Norwich 10 August, 1756, aged about 59 years. He had continued painting right up until his death. He had a wife called Abigail, a daughter and a son with the same name, John Theodore Heins Jr (1732c to 1771), who also became a portrait painter.
This is a fine example of portraiture from the mid-eighteenth century.
Provenance:
By direct descent from the sitter to her daughter;
Ann Compton (nee Wood), then by direct descent to the present owner
Measurements:
Height 94cm, Width 83.5cm framed (Height 37”, Width 33” framed)
£10,250
€ 11,950 (approximate export price)
$ 12,850 (approximate export price)