[Earl of Hertford]

Francis Seymour Conway, Earl of Hertford, was Lord Chamberlain from 1766 to 1782, mainly in the ministry of Lord North (1770-1782). For reasons unknown, he became one of five figures chosen by Gillray for his first experiments in the creation of portrait bust caricatures in the spring and summer of 1780. He appears here in profile, wearing what is almost certainly the court uniform of the Lord Chamberlain. The others Gillray portrayed included Lady Mount Edgcumbe, Lady Cecilia Johnston, Lord Kelly, and Lord Amherst.

What is puzzling is that Gillray does not use any of these studies in any of his satiric prints until almost two years later. The Earl of Hertford, for instance, does not apppear until Dame Rat, and Her Poor Little Ones [March, 1782], this time with both the scarlet uniform and the stave of the Lord Chamberlain.

He appears again in The Jubilee [June, 1782] this time out of office and uniform, but hoping for a speedy return.

Sources and Reading

• Commentary from the British Museum on [Earl of Hertford]
• Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford, Wikipedia

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