MARY BALFOUR HERBERT (BRITISH 1817–1893)

MARY BALFOUR HERBERT (BRITISH 1817–1893)
Torc waterfall
watercolour and bodycolour
inscribed verso
70 x 50 cm; framed: 90 x 72 cm

Provenance:
Wynestead, Killarney

The daughter of James Balfour MP and Lady Eleanor Maitland; they were grandparents of Arthur Balfour 1st Earl Balfour. She grew up in Whittingehame House, East Lothian, Scotland, and travelled widely during her childhood. She took drawing lessons but had no other formal art education.

She met Henry Arthur Herbert while abroad in Rome and married him in 1837. His family owned the Muckross Estate near Killarney in County Kerry, Ireland.

She also worked at developing her talents as a watercolour artist, and she displayed considerable skill with practice. She painted many scenes from the Lakes of Killarney and was recognised as the "...most gifted amateur in the kingdom." (The Times, Friday 30 August 1861). Queen Victoria visited the estate with the Royal family in 1861 and received several of Mary's paintings as a parting gift.