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]