(Marnhull 1710–1788 Broad Hempston)
Portrait of Prince Charles Edward Stuart, called Bonnie Prince Charlie (1721–1788), wearing armour and the sash of the order of the Garter,
oil on canvas, 25.6 x 21 cm, framed

The present painting is one of a number of portraits of Prince Charles Edward Stuart, known as the ‘Young Pretender’ or Bonnie Prince Charlie. Hussey worked primarily as a draughtsman, and versions of the portrait in chalk and plumbago include that formerly in the Ilchester collection at Holland House, which has been dated to 1735; that belonging to the Duke of Atholl; and a version formerly in the collection of Lord Montague at Cowdray Park. Two versions in red chalk, showing the head only, are known (British Museum and formerly in the collection of Horace Walpole). Some versions show the Prince in armour, and as a slightly older man than in the present example. A small and damaged example on vellum of this last type was formerly in the collection of Lord Arundell of Wardour and most recently in the collection of Roger Warner. These later likenesses may have been begun by Hussey after the failure of the 1745 rebellion, as a means of raising income by capitalising on the Prince’s romantic status. It was once claimed that Hussey, struggling in poverty, found that repetitions of his likeness of Charles provided his only regular income. This hypothesis is strengthened by an oil painting of Charles in armour by Hussey which is signed and dated 1765. Another version in oil of the present composition was described in the collection of Sir William Meredith in the 1750s (see R. Nicholson, Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Making of a Myth: A Study in Portraiture, 1720-1892, Bucknell 2002, p. 56).

Hussey, a Catholic who, having been abandoned by his master Vincenzo Damini, was in Rome between 1732 and 1737 in search of patronage, became known for the fine draughtsmanship. His profile portraits in particular proved popular with the exiled Jacobite court and their supporters. His connection to the Stuart family is not known at present – one source suggests he was briefly Charles Edward Stuart’s private secretary. He is known to have drawn both Charles and his father James, the Old Pretender. Hussey became a passionate supporter of the Jacobite movement, and of Charles in particular. His highly-finished portrait drawings became something of a Jacobite ‘icon’’, designed for Stuart supporters both in Britain and in exile on the continent.