The present work, a portrait of the second Arthur Guinness (1768-1855), was exhibited at the RHA in 1827 and is also listed in Strickland. Arthur was the second son of Guinness founder, Arthur Guinness (1725-1803) and is credited with greatly developing the business at a time of great change economically and politically. He also extended the operations of the family into such areas as flour milling and banking. Arthurs interest in banking led him to being appointed to the Court of Directors of the Bank of Ireland and later becoming its Govenor. He was also chairman of Dublin Chamber of Commerce and was elected a member of Dublin Corporation. He married Ann Lee in 1793 and had nine children, including Benjamin Lee Guinness who was born in 1798. The letter held by the sitter identifies him and is addressed at Beaumont House, his childhood home, which is now part of Beaumont Hospital on the north side of Dublin. Views of Beaumont House were drawn by his daughter, Mary Jane after some remodeling in the 1850s (see Painting Ireland, Topographical Views from Glin Castle, ref. nos.143 & 144).
Benjamin Lee Guinness by Stephen Catterson Smith Jr courtesy of Adam’s auction 13 Oct 2015, Provenance: St. Annes, Clontarf, and by descent in the family. Born in Dublin in 1849, Stephen was eldest son of portrait painter Stephen Catterson Smith, PRHA and Anne Wyke, herself an artist who exhibited occasionally at the RHA. Stephen Jun. had intended to join the army but owing to financial issues he was unable to enter that profession and instead settled down as a painter in his fathers studio. He is listed in the RHA records as having first exhibited there in 1871 with a Portrait. His father died the following year and he effectively took over the practice and continued the family tradition of painting the great and the good of Irish society. He was a regular visitor to Scotland and it was whilst there in 1905 that he caught a severe cold which permanently affected his health. He died on November 24th 1912, at his home, 42 St. Stephens Green in the same room in which he was born. Walter Strickland notes that Smith Jun. made a number of copies of pictures painted by his father, including portraits of the present Sir Benjamin Lee Guinness and his wife Lady Guinness, which were done, we must presume, for Lord Ardilaun. The original portrait of Benjamin Lee Guinness was painted in 1862/3 and exhibited at the RHA in 1863.
Sir Benjamin Lee Guinness, 1st Baronet (1798 – 1868) was the third son of Arthur Guinness II and his wife Anne Lee and grandson of the first Arthur Guinness, founder of the eponymous brewery. While his father had developed the family business and had extended the familys range of commercial interests, it was Benjamin Lee that brought the brewery onto a different level altogether. By the time of his fathers death in 1855, he had become Irelands richest man by developing a huge export trade.
He enjoyed a successful political career, being elected Lord Mayor of Dublin in 1851 and taking a seat in the House of Commons in 1865, a position he retained until his death. His philanthropy was well known, particularly in his home city of Dublin. He undertook in the 1860s the restoration of St. Patricks Cathedral and is reported as having spent the enormous sum of £150,000 on the enterprise. His Dublin home was what is now known as Iveagh House at 80, St. Stephens Green and in 1852 he purchased Ashford Castle in Co.Mayo adding two large Victorian extensions to the castellated mansion. An avid gardener, he extended the estate to 26,000 acres and planted many thousands of trees and oversaw the development of the massive woodlands. On his death in 1868, he was succeeded in the baronetcy by his eldest son, Arthur (later Lord Ardilaum) who took over the brewery with his brother Edward (later Lord Iveagh). His daughter, Anne (1839 – 1889) married William, Lord Plunket in 1863. He is buried in the family vault in Mount Jerome Cemetery in Dublin.
James Gunning of Castle Coote, County Roscommon (d.1767), Father of the Celebrated beauties, Elizabeth, Maria and Catherine, with Medallion Portrait of his Daughter, Maria Date/ c.1760 Engraver Richard Houston, Irish, 1721/22-1775, courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland.Elizabeth, Duchess of Hamilton and Brandon (née Gunning), (1734-1770) Engraver Richard Houston, Irish, 1721/22-1775 After Francis Cotes, English, 1726-1770, courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland.She was the daughter of Colonel John Gunning (1700-1767) of Castle Coote, County Roscommon and of Bridget Bourke (1716-1779), daughter of Theobald Bourke (1681-1741) 6th Viscount of Mayo.Elizabeth married James Hamilton, 6th Duke of Hamilton of Scotland.Photograph courtesy of Glin castle website.The portrait is Margaretta Maria Gwyn (1769-1801), wife of John Bateman Fitzgerald (1765-1803) 23rd Knightof Glin, I believe.