William Waldegrave

William Waldegrave joined the Royal Navy in 1766, after finishing at Eton College. He married Cornelia Jacoba van Lennep (1763-1839) in 1785; they had three sons and six daughters.   Waldegrave was offered a baronetcy – which he declined – after serving as third in command at the Battle of Cape St Vincent in 1797. That same year, Waldegrave was appointed Governor of Newfoundland. After completing his term in 1800, he was granted an Irish peerage as Baron Radstock of Castletown and promoted to admiral when he retired in 1802. Waldegrave was awarded the “Most Honourable Order of the Bath” and appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the same order in 1815.   Waldegrave’s art collection was valued at 51,000 guineas and included a Van Dyke portrait of King Charles I; Waldegrave also served as patron to young artists.   Baron Radstock is mentioned in the provenance for Aert van der Neer’s Paysage Et Effet Du Soir (Evening Landscape). The painting was sold through Christie’s in London on 12 May 1826 (lot no. 32). It later was acquired by Adolphe Schloss (Schloss German no. 158/ French no. 184). The painting was restituted on 18 October 1946 and sold to Leopold Ruzicka at the Charpentier Sale in Paris on 25 May 1949 (lot no. 41).   Literature and Links:   [about:blank https://morethannelson.com/officer/hon-william-waldegrave-1st-baron-radstock/] [about:blank https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Waldegrave,_1st_Baron_Radstock] Phillips Son & Neale, London. Pictures, of the Dutch, Flemish, and Italian Schools. 1823 Apr. 19. Christie, Manson & Woods. London. Catalogue of the very noble collection of Italian, French, Flemish, and Dutch pictures of the Right honorouable Admiral Lord Radstock. 1826 (online at: [about:blank https://archive.org/details/frick-31072002729467/page/n17/mode/2up?q=Neer])