Allen Bathurst, 6th Earl

This watercolour sketch of Allen Bathurst was taken in 1850 by the artist at an informal gathering at Balls Park, a country estate in Hertford owned by the Townshend family. The artist, Augusta Mary, was married to Henry Granville FitzAlan-Howard, later 14th Duke of Norfolk.

Looking young and dapper in the portrait, Allen Bathurst was eighteen years of age at the time. He went on to enlist in the army before being elected as an MP. He married twice and had two sons.

The portrait was rescued from a disbound scrapbook belonging to Augusta Mary and is presented in a period papier-mâché frame with a traditional acorn hanger. Labels on the reverse name the sitter and date the portrait to August 1850.