HANOVER, N.H. - Dartmouth College has acquired a celebrated portrait of its great benefactor, William Legge, the second Earl of Dartmouth (1731-1801), after whom the college was named. The three-quarter-length portrait in oil on canvas, completed in 1756, represents the sitter leaning to one side on a pedestal situated in a portico-like setting. The painting was purchased by the Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, at Sotheby's London auction on 6 June 2007, with funds generously given by Jane Dance and David Dance D'40, T'41, Jonathan L. Cohen D'60, T'61, Frederick Whittemore D'53, T'54, Barbara Dau Southwell ’78 and David Southwell T'88, Raphael Bernstein DP, and an anonymous donor.

Pompeo Batoni was an acclaimed portrait painter in Rome who created iconic images of late-eighteenth-century British travelers. William Legge, like many aristocratic Englishmen of this era, deferred the start of his professional and political career for the opportunity to broaden himself through travel and the acquisition of foreign languages on the European Grand Tour. His correspondence indicates that during his travels through the continent from 1751 to 1754 he absorbed lessons from antiquity through the writings of classical authors on Roman history, visited sites where important events had transpired, and studied and collected sculpture and other artifacts.

Batoni’s portrait of Lord Dartmouth, who succeeded his grandfather to the title in 1750, was first owned by the sitter's mother, Elizabeth Kaye, Countess of Guilford, and has remained in her family since it was painted. The portrait was begun during Lord Dartmouth’s sojourn in Rome in 1753 when he was accompanied on the trip by his stepbrother, Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford, (1732-1792), later prime minister during the period of the American Revolution. After traveling through Germany and northern Italy they reached Rome in January 1753, where they stayed in the Casa Guarnieri. Soon afterwards both were painted by Batoni, whose portraits in oil were preceded by miniatures (now lost) dated the same year. The painting of Lord Dartmouth was completed three years later (1756) and shipped to England. It is one of the finest portraits of the benefactor who would later become the principal supporter of Eleazar Wheelock's Indian Charity School.

The Hood Museum of Art at Dartmouth College is an accredited member of the American Association of Museums (AAM) and is cited by AAM as a national model. The Hood is located in the heart of downtown Hanover, N.H., in an award-winning building designed by Charles Moore. The museum’s outstanding and diverse collections include American portraits, paintings, watercolors, drawings, silver, and decorative arts, European Old Master prints and drawings, paintings, and sculpture, and ancient, Asian, African, Oceanic, and Native American collections from almost every period in history to the present. The Hood regularly displays its collections and organizes major traveling exhibitions while featuring major exhibitions from around the country. The museum provides a rich diversity of year-round public programs. For more information about the collections, exhibitions, and programs, visit www.hoodmuseum.dartmouth.edu.