Angelica Magdalena Wharton, nee Pelissary (c.1664-1736), 1st Viscountess St John

Angelica’s first marriage was of a short duration and less than twelve months after the death of Wharton, the twenty year old widow married Henry, 1st Viscount St.John at St. Anne’s, Soho.

Following their marriage the newlyweds set up home in Bury Street, Westminster later moving to Berkeley Street and then Albemarle Street, Piccadilly. Visits to their country estate at Lydiard Park were frequent and lengthy, sometimes lasting from as early as June through to November.

The first of Henry and Angelica’s children, a boy named Walter after his St.John grandfather, was born on June 13, 1688. Angelica went on to give birth to a further eleven children, all of whom died in childhood, except for George, Henrietta, John and Holles.

Medium - oil on canvas

Measurements - H 75 x W 63 cm

Transferred from the de Morgan Foundation 2005