Jane Odiwe Jane Austen Sequels

Edward Rice As we come to the close of this fascinating history of the Rice Portrait provenance, I'd like to tell you about a new website , which gives more detail and information about the painting. The Rice Portrait of Jane Austen  is to be found at www.janeaustenriceportrait.co.uk, and will cover every aspect of the portrait's history from its provenance to concerns  and addresses the Mary Anne Campion attribution,  amongst other matters. It is a work in progress, and more pages are being added daily! And now, I'd like to thank Mrs. Rice for joining us again to tell us about the tenth owner, Edward Rice, and poignantly, about her late husband, Henry Rice, the eleventh owner of the portrait. Edward Rice 1899-1973 Edward Rice inherited the portrait as the tenth owner on his father’s death in 1943. He married a great heiress, Lord Curzon of Kedleston’s stepdaughter, Marcella Duggan, and built a ballroom onto Dane Court, which was large, echoing, and rather draughty ...

 Lady Northbourne, n é e Gwenlian Rice 1871-1952 Jane Austen, the Rice Portrait Lady Northbourne, the eighth owner of the portrait gave the painting back to the main branch of the family, Henry Rice 1864-1943, her first cousin. Her father, Sir Ernest had considered giving it to the National Portrait Gallery, but eventually decided his cousin should have it, as he still lived in the large house, Dane Court, which had been bought by Edward Royd Rice and Elizabeth Austen on their marriage. (The then Henry Rice had owned a fast ship, the East Indiaman ‘Dutton’, which made three trips to India collecting a fortune in tea, silks, and spices.) He had married ‘The Heiress of Dover’, Sarah Sampson, some say for a bet, and he was also known affectionately as ‘The Pirate’, again probably quite true! (She is mentioned in Jane Austen’s letters, as is their reprobate eldest son Henry, whose mother constantly paid his large debts.) Gwenlian Northbourne stipulated that Jane should no long...

Colonel Thomas Austen Reproduced by kind permission of the owner -  from a private collection Mrs. Henry Rice joins me today for part three of the Rice Portrait Provenance. The history of the painting is a fascinating one, and I've loved hearing about all of the owners, but I must admit, I think Colonel Thomas's biography is one of the most interesting! Thank you for joining us again. Colonel Thomas Austen, (1775 - 1859) the third owner of the portrait, was Jane's second cousin, and a great friend of Edward Knight, her brother. They were both fanatical cricketers, and played in the Duke of Dorset's (the founder of the MCC's) team, called at one point, 'The Gentlemen of Kent'. Elizabeth Austen, my husband Henry's great, great grandmother, knew him well. We know from her that he rode very well to hounds, was a fine shot, and also played the violin. His mother, Elizabeth Motley Austen (n é e Wilson) had had a great admirer called Sir Horace Mann who ...

  Francis Motley Austen Reproduced by kind permission of the owner -from a private collection Mrs. Francis Motley Austen Reproduced by kind permission of the owner -from a private collection In the second part of this series of blog posts on the provenance of the Rice portrait, Mrs. Henry Rice talks about the second owner of the portrait,  Francis Motley Austen. Thank you so much for joining us today, Mrs. Rice - I know everyone will enjoy reading more of the portrait's history! Francis Motley Austen, Uncle Francis's eldest son by his wife Anne Motley who died in childbirth in 1747, was the second owner of the portraits. In 1791 he inherited a large fortune from his father, and several estates as well as The Red House, Wilmington, and Lamberhurst where he lived. In 1796 he foreclosed on Kippington Park, an estate adjoining Knole, and (having removed the family called Farnaby,) moved his family in. Kippington is a large house, and he may have wished t...

In the first of a new series of blog posts, I'd like to welcome Mrs. Henry Rice who is going to be telling us all about the provenance of the 'Rice' Portrait of Jane Austen. Written in her own words is her account taken from letters and documents which her husband Henry Rice collated over many years. I'm sure you will enjoy reading this fascinating insight as much as I have! The Rice Portrait Provenance - Its Owners by Mrs. Henry Rice Great Uncle Francis This story, and the portrait of Jane Austen started in the summer of 1788 when George Austen took his wife, and his two young daughters, Cassandra aged 15, and Jane aged not quite 13 years old to visit their Great Uncle Francis Austen at his home called The Red House in Sevenoaks, Kent. Francis Austen was an enormously rich and successful man, he had been head of Lincoln's Inn in London, and owned properties in Essex, as well as in Kent. He was an expert in the settling, and safeguarding of large estates by e...

The 'Rice' Portrait of Jane Austen This is the stunning portrait believed to be of Jane Austen that is known as the 'Rice' portrait because it was inherited by the late Henry Rice, a direct descendant of Jane's brother Edward Austen/Knight. My interest in this portrait began a few years ago, but earlier this year, Mrs. Henry Rice and her brother Mr. Robin Roberts contacted me about another portrait they thought I'd be interested to know about, a painting that seems to have been overlooked, which could possibly be of the Austen family, (you can read about that here ). I have always loved the 'Rice' portrait, which is just how I imagine a young Jane looked so when Mrs. Rice suggested meeting up for a chat about our mutual fascination with all things Jane Austen, I couldn't wait to meet her! I had so many questions I wanted to ask and Anne was so generous with her time, answering everything I wanted to know. It's always lovely to meet someone el...