ID: 700008157 Page link: http://vocab.getty.edu/page/cona/700008157	Record Type: Movable Work
Images: 1

Sir James Gray, 2nd Bt. (pastel (visual work); Rosalba Carriera (Italian, 1673 - 1757) (Italian Artist); about 1744 - 1745; J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Center (Los Angeles, Los A...; 2009.80)

Note: Sir James Gray, 2nd Baronet (c. 1708-1773), a diplomatist and antiquary, was the elder son of James Gray (died 1722), a courtier, who was created 1st Baronet on 5 March 1707 by Queen Anne, and his wife, Hester Dodd (c. 1684-1781). Horace Walpole commented tartly that the sitter's father "was first a box-keeper and then footman to James II". After succeeding as second baronet in 1722, Sir James entered Clare College, Cambridge, and received the degree of M.A. in 1729. From 1731 to 1733 he travelled to France, Italy, Malta, and Portugal with Joseph Alston (1703-1733). He was a founder member of the Society of Dilettanti - which embodied the significant influence that the Grand Tour of Italy had on British taste - in 1738. A portrait of Sir James Gray by George Knapton, 1741, is still in the collection of the Society of Dilettanti today.Sir James entered the diplomatic service in June 1744, when he was appointed secretary to Robert D'Arcy, 4th Earl of Holdernesse, on his mission to Venice, where he arrived in October of the same year. Promoted to Resident in March 1746, he remained in Venice until August 1752. In 1750 he met James "Athenian" Stuart and Nicholas Revett, then about to leave for Athens, and arranged for their election to the Society of Dilettanti. In October 1753 he was appointed envoy extraordinary to the court of Naples. He was quickly on good terms with the young King Charles VII (later Charles III of Spain), and offered architectural advice about the new palace at Caserta. He took a close interest in the archaeological discoveries at Portici and Herculaneum and commissioned Antonio Joli to paint the Doric ruins at Paestum. As young Grand Tourists passed through Naples, Sir James recommended them for membership of the Society of Dilettanti. In spring 1755 he undertook a mission to Rome concerning the Pretender but otherwise his diplomatic duties seem to have been routine. He was made a knight of the Bath in 1759. During his time in Naples he fathered two illegitimate children, James and Catherine Gray, but nothing is known of their mother. He left Naples on leave in April 1763 and did not return. His final diplomatic posting was Madrid, where he served as ambassador, a rare honour for a commoner, from 1767 until 1769. He died of an apoplexy at court in London on 9 January 1773.

Titles:

Sir James Gray, 2nd Bt. (preferred,C,U,RP,English-P,U,U)

Catalog Level: item

Work Types:

pastel (visual work) [300076922] (preferred)

..... (Objects Facet, Visual and Verbal Communication (hierarchy name), Visual Works (hierarchy name), visual works (works), <visual works by material or technique>)

drawing (visual work) [300033973]

..... (Objects Facet, Visual and Verbal Communication (hierarchy name), Visual Works (hierarchy name), visual works (works), <visual works by material or technique>)

Classifications:

drawings (preferred)

Creation Date: about 1744 - 1745

Creator Display:

Rosalba Carriera (Italian, 1673 - 1757) (Italian Artist) [preferred,JPGM]

pastelist Carriera, Rosalba (Venetian pastelist and painter, 1673-1757) [500115351]

Locations:

Current: J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Center (Los Angeles, Los Angeles county, California, United States) [500329598] J. Paul Getty Museum, J. Paul Getty Trust, Corporate Bodies (Corp. Body)

Repository Numbers: 2009.80

Other: Creation: Italia [1000080] Europe (continent), World (facet) (Geographic)

Display Materials: Pastel on paper

	pastels (crayons) [300122621]
	.......(Objects Facet, Furnishings and Equipment (hierarchy name), Tools and Equipment (hierarchy name), equipment, <equipment by process>, image-making equipment, <equipment for drafting| drawing| and writing>, <drafting| drawing and writing equipment by specific type>, crayons (drawing material))

	paper (fiber product) [300014109]
	.......(Materials Facet, Materials (hierarchy name), materials (substances), <materials by form>, <materials by physical form>, <fiber and fiber by product>, <fiber by product>)

Dimensions: Unframed: 56 x 45.8 cm (22 1/16 x 18 1/16 in.); Framed: 82 x 70.5 cm (32 5/16 x 27 3/4 in.)

Cultures:

Italian (preferred)

General Subject:

portraits (preferred)

Specific Subjects:

	Gray, James, 2nd Baronet (British diplomat and antiquary, ca. 1708-1773) [500355294]
	.....(Non-Artists) (ULAN)

	portrait [300015637]
	.....(Objects Facet, Visual and Verbal Communication (hierarchy name), Visual Works (hierarchy name), visual works (works), <visual works by subject type>) (AAT)

List/Hierarchical Position:

..... Movable Works

.......... Movable Works by class: drawings, paintings, prints, other two-dimensional media

Sources and Contributors:
Sir James Gray, 2nd Bt.	........ [JPGM,VP]
	........ J. Paul Getty Museum database for collections (2000-)

Subject: ....... [JPGM,VP]

Note:
English	..... [JPGM]
	..... J. Paul Getty Museum database for collections (2000-)