Kenneth Powles (1832-1910) (by descent)
Ernest Powles (1867-1931) (by descent from the above, his father)
Stephen Howard Powles (1900-1980)  (by descent from the above, his father)
Peter Powles, Esq. (by descent from the above)
Sale: Sotheby's, London, November 16, 1988, lot 125, as Emma Powles on her Grey Hunter Accompanied by Her Spaniel in a River Landscape
Acquired at the above sale by A. Alfred Taubman

Jacques Laurent Agasse, Livre de Raison (manuscript), possibly as entry in 1835 or 1842

This condition report was kindly provided by Simon Parkes Art Conservation: This work is in marvelous condition. The canvas has been lined with a non-wax adhesive. The paint layer may be slightly yellowed at present, but nonetheless still looks very attractive. The fine details in the figure, bridle and reins are very well preserved. Most of the retouches address a few thin cracks in the sky, in the face of the figure, and in the neck and cheek of the horse. There is one small loss about half an inch by a quarter of an inch in the upper right sky and another small damage in the upper left sky measuring about 1 inch square. The restoration is good. The work can be cleaned if required, but it can also certainly be hung as is.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

The 1830s were a decade of change for Agasse.  His great patron Lord Rivers had died in 1828, and his contributions to public exhibitions were decreasing.  He ceased to exhibit at the British Institution after 1832, and from that date until 1842, he sent nothing to the Royal Academy.  Though he continued to paint horses, dogs and animals, the subjects that brought him early fame, he increasingly turned to portraiture.  Many of Agasse’s sitters can be identified as members of London’s expatriate community of Swiss Huguenots, and many of his patrons came from his circle of friends.  Among them were Emma Powles, née Schneider, born in Switzerland and later moving to London, where she first lived at 20, Nottingham Palace, Marleybone with her cousin Miss Buchwald, and both names appear several times in Agasse’s Livre de Raison from 1835 onwards.  Further, Emma’s husband may have been the Rev. Cowley Powles who sat for a portrait by Agasse in 1845, and their son may well have been the model for Agasse’s Infant Hercules of the previous year.  A group portrait of Miss Buchwald, Mrs. Powles, a child and others is recorded in 1848 and was begun eight years before (Colston Sanger, “Agasse in London,” Jacques-Laurent Agasse 1767-1849, exhibition catalogue, The Tate Gallery, London, 1988-89, p. 38).

The model of the present portrait was identified as Emma Powles when previously sold by her descendants at Sotheby’s, London (November 16, 1988, lot 125).  However, a recent return to Agasse’s record book suggests the model may also have been Miss Buchwald. In either case, the present portrait is a known replica of a primary composition known as  P. of Miss C. on a grey horse. S. Bishops half-length noted in Agasse’s record books as completed in March 1808, and exhibited at the Royal Academy that same year as Portrait of a Lady (no. 166, present location unknown).  The “Miss C.” of this early portrait is identified by Daniel Baud-Bovy as “Miss Cazenove,” a distant relative of the artist or, according to C.-F. Hardy, a member of an English branch of the Cazenove family (Daniel Baud Bovy, Peintres Genevois, vol. II, Geneva, 1904, p. 147; C-F. Hardy, J. L. Agasse: his life, his work, manuscript, Geneva, Musée d’Art et Histoire, as discussed in Lucien Boissonnas, Renée Loche, Colston Sanger, Jacques-Laurent Agasse 1767-1849, exhibition catalogue, The Tate Gallery, London, 𝕴1988-89, p. 176, under no. 69). While Agasse’s record book notes his returning to this composition multiple times from 1825 to 1842, the exact identification of each is  made complicated by the fact the artist rarely named his compositions or inscribed dates to his finished works.  The multiple replicas demonstrate the artist’s good reputation among contemporary patrons; if an original portrait was successful, further commissions would be requested (Sanger, p. 39).