Charlotte Walpole, afterwards Countess Dysart
by COTES, Francis, Oil on canvas, 76 x 34 cm
Charlotte Walpole (1738-1789) was the youngest of the three illegitimate daughters of Sir Edward Walpole (1706-1784) and niece of the author, Horace Walpole (1717-1797). In 1760 she married Lionel Tollemache, Lord Huntingtower, son of the 4th Earl of Dysart (1734-1799), who wed her in secret without the knowledge or consent of his father. He became the 5th Earl of Dysart in 1770.
This painting is one of a pair, the other depicting her sister, Laura Louisa Walpole, wife of the Hon. Frederick Keppel, Bishop of Exeter.