Artwork
Members of the Maynard Family in the Park at Waltons
Members of the Maynard Family in the Park at Waltons is an oil painting by the Rococo painting artist Arthur Devis. It dates from 1758 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
It is an 1800 oil on canvas work by Arthur Devis, created as a portrait of familial status and lineage within the English gentry.
The painting depicts the Maynard family, including the elder daughter and co-heir of Colonel the Hon. Charles Henry Maynard, in a park setting at their estate, Waltons. It is an 1800 oil on canvas work by Arthur Devis, created as a portrait of familial status and lineage within the English gentry. The composition emphasizes aristocratic continuity and inherited wealth, reflecting the social prestige of the Maynard family through their connections to the titled nobility and extensive landholdings.
The subject therefore represents both a personal and dynastic narrative of lineage and landed privilege in 18th-century England.
The work is part of the National Gallery of Art's collection in Washington, D.C., having entered the museum through the 1964 gift of Paul Mellon.
Technique & Style
Arthur Devis executed Members of the Maynard Family in the Park at Waltons in oil on canvas. The composition measures 138.5 by 195.6 centimeters. The work belongs to the painting classification and is characterized by Devis's typical formal conversation-piece approach, integrating portraiture with a detailed landscape setting.
History & Provenance
The painting was commissioned by Sir William Maynard, 4th bt. (1721-1772), and remained in the family's possession at Waltons, Ashdon, Essex. It passed by descent to Frances, Countess of Warwick, who sold it at Sotheby's, London, on 21 November 1934 (lot 34).
The work then changed hands through several owners, including Hemming Walter Hutchinson, and was acquired by Paul Mellon in 1960. In 1964, Mellon gifted the painting to the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Arthur Devis created the work in 1800 as an oil on canvas. The painting measures 138.5 cm in height and 195.6 cm in width. Its provenance traces back to the Maynard family, with the subject being the elder daughter and co-heir of Col. the Hon. Charles Henry Maynard.
The work is part of the National Gallery of Art's collection in Washington, D.C., where it has been housed since its 1964 gift.
Members of the Maynard Family in the Park at Waltons is held by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. It was acquired by the museum in 1964 as a gift from Paul Mellon. The work entered the collection via a series of sales and transfers beginning with its creation for Sir William Maynard in 1800, followed by sales at Sotheby's in 1934 and Christie, Manson & Woods in 1948, 1951, and 1955, before being purchased by Paul Mellon and subsequently gifted to the National Gallery of Art. It was later acquired directly by the museum in 1964.
Overview
Arthur Devis executed this oil on canvas around 1758, portraying members of the Maynard family within a park setting at Waltons. The composition presents a relaxed domestic moment, characteristic of mid‑eighteenth‑century genre painting, and offers a glimpse into the leisure activities of a provincial gentry household.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Arthur Devis (19 February 1712 – 25 July 1787) was an English painter whose father, Anthony, was progenitor of what became a family dynasty of painters and writers.
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