Description:'A Catalogue of Pictures at Trentham' made in 1825 provides a room by room inventory of the paintings collected by George Granville Leveson-Gower and displayed at his family’s seat in Staffordshire.
The collection included portraits and miniatures of the Leveson-Gower family including a painting of ‘The Countess of Surrey…& Lady Francis Leveson Gower when children’. In the old Library was a painting by ‘Romney’ of ‘George Granville Marquis of Stafford’. The Old Library also contained ‘Portraits of Gertrude Duchess of Bedford, Louisa Countess Gower’ and also miniatures of ‘Miss Fazakerly 1st wife of Granville Marquis of Stafford, & Mr & Mrs William Leveson Gower & King Charles 2’.
Trentham also housed a range of ‘figures in variegated marble’ including ornaments by ‘Bird’ entitled ‘Village politicians’ and ‘George Wilson – the worn out Soldiers’.
George Granville's collection at Trentham also included many imitations of paintings by famous artists. In the ‘Tapestry Dressing room’ on the ‘east side over the chimney’ was a painting described as ‘Stone (after Vandyke)’ entitled ‘Portrait of Queen Henrietta Maria’. In addition, the catalogue lists ‘Charles Wilkins – miniature copy from Vandyke, of a picture at Cleveland H[ouse]’ and ‘Miss M. Mure a miniature copy of the Port of the Earl of Arundel by Vandyke at Cleveland House’.
Amongst the art work at Trentham Hall were many contemporary paintings by modern artists. The catalogue lists ‘Opie – Belisarius’ which refers to the artist John Opie, an English painter who came from an industrial background. The collection also included contemporary works such as ‘a cottage girl’ by Sir Martin Archer Shee and ‘A Flower Piece’ by James Hewlett. Alongside these were works by Benjamin Barker and Douglas Guest, also contemporary English artists.
George Granville's ownership of these modern works reflects his involvement in the promotion of contemporary art at the beginning of the nineteenth century. As a founding member of the British Institution for Promoting the Fine Arts in the United Kingdom, George Granville made numerous purchases from the Institution’s contemporary exhibitions.
Contextual information about the Leveson-Gower family and contemporary art from Philip Ward-Jackson: "Leveson-Gower, George Granville, 2nd Marquess of Stafford & 1st Duke of Sutherland" Grove Art Online. Oxford University Press, http://www.groveart.com