Lot Essay
This charming portrait derives from a sketch made by Romney, which was intended for the full-length portrait of Henrietta, Countess of Warwick, and Her Children (now in The Frick Collection, New York). In the full-length, the children are placed further apart than in this picture, and Lady Elizabeth leans not on a plinth but on her mother's knee. In the present painting the affection between the siblings becomes the central feature of the composition.