English School, c.1810 Portrait of Sir Robert Chester, Master of Ceremonies to King George III, King George IV, King WIlliam IV and Queen Victoria, head and shoulders, in court dress Oil on canvas 74 x 62cm Provenance: Watsons, Broome End Sale, Stansted, Essex, 13 September 1983, Lot 106; Wood Hall, Arkesden, Essex. Sir Robert Chester of Bush Hall, Hertford, was Assistant Master of Ceremonies from 1796-1818 and then Master of Ceremonies from 1818-1847. The Master's duties were to receive foreign dignitaries and present them to the monarch at court. Condition report: Oil on canvas which is unlined and has an artist supplier's stamp for C.E. Clifford of London on the reverse. The canvas tension is slightly slack but in plane. There are a few scattered losses at the edges of the painting but overall the paint layer appears stable. Textural phenomena associated with the drying of the paint layer is evident across the surface with wide drying cracks and an uneven surface. The drying cracks in the face reveal the white ground layer below. The varnish is old and degraded; it has become yellowed, dull and no longer saturates the paint layers below. There is a light layer of surface dirt present. There are scattered losses to the gilded surface of the frame and old areas of damage have been covered in metallic paint.