Henry Ferrers Ferrers (formerly Croxon) (1848-1923)

Another of Rebecca Dulcibella Orpen's portrait paintings at Baddesley Clinton, this 1886 portrait of Henry Ferrers Ferrers (formerly Croxon) — a member of the extended Ferrers family associated with the house — is one of her original works rather than a copy. Orpen spent much of her life at Baddesley Clinton, documenting and depicting the family and house that she and Marmion Edward Ferrers devoted their lives to preserving. Her portraits of the family and their associates provide a visual record of the late Victorian Catholic gentry community centered on this important recusant house.

Orpen renders Henry Ferrers in the conventional format of Victorian gentleman portraiture — a three-quarter pose, formal dress, and a composed expression. Her handling is technically accomplished within traditional constraints, with the face carefully modeled and the background and clothing treated more broadly.