Cheffins
Lot 138
John Thomas Barber Beaumont (1774-1841) Portrait miniature of Captain Samuel Edward Cook (1787-1856), later Widdrington, RN, wearing a blue coat, white waistcoat, chemise and stocksigned lower right 'JTB'watercolour on ivory, oval, in a gold frame, verso glazed to reveal strands of hair set with gilt-wire and split seed pearls on opalescent glass6cmProvenance:The Widdrington family, Newton Hall, Northumberland,Bonhams, London, 25 May 2011, lot 68;Ellison Fine Art, from whom acquired in 2014 by the late Barry Lock (1934-2021)The sitter was the eldest son of Reverend Joseph Cook and Sarah Brown. He joined the navy in 1802 at the age of fifteen as a midshipman. He became a lieutenant when stationed in the West Indies in 1809. He retired as a commander in 1824 and was decorated by the King of Portugal for services to the crown. He is known primarily for his two books written while he was living in Spain following his service in the Royal Navy, Sketches in Spain during the years 1829-1832 (1834) and Spain and the Spaniards in 1843 (1844). In 1832 upon his return to his family seat, Newton Hall in Northumberland, he married Dorothy, the daughter of Alexander Davison (1750-1829), an agent and confidant to Lord Nelson. In 1840, Cook assumed the name of Widdrington, his mother being the heiress of some of the estates of that family. In 1842, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society and served as High Sheriff of Northumberland in 1854. He died at Newton Hall in 1856 and was succeeded in the ownership of his estates by his nephew, Shallcross Fitzherbert Jackson, who also assumed the name Widdrington.This item is offered for sale in accordance with the Ivory Act 2018 and has been assigned an exemption certificate, Ref. No. KLAK4F7G.
