William Legge, the 2nd Earl of Dartmouth

William Legge, 2nd Earl of Dartmouth by Batoni

I recently visited Dartmouth College for the first time, and was delighted to have time to visit the Hood Museum of Art on their campus. It is an excellent collection, beautifully displayed, and it was particularly thrilling to see two paintings by one of my favorite 18th-century artists, Pompeo Batoni. One is of Richard Clements, Earl of Leetrim and the other (shown here) is of William Legge, the 2nd Earl of Dartmouth, after whom the college is named. Both are souvenirs of the "Grand Tour" as young men. I've always felt Pompeo, perhaps more than just about any artist, was wonderful at capturing people as they were - you felt you might meet them on the street. You'll notice the Earl's clothing is somewhat casual and he is probably not wearing a wig - quite a contrast to so many more formal paintings of the well-to-do during that period. He is displaying what the Italians called sprezzatura - 'studied nonchalance.' In the course of my work, I get to travel to many places - not all of them in major metropolitan areas - that have excellent museums and art collections. It is a real privilege to see so many works of art in person that I might not otherwise get to see outside the pages of a book.