Portrait returned to Wimpole Hall thanks to mystery donor

An 18th-century portrait has been returned to Wimpole Hall in Cambridgeshire after an anonymous donor stepped in to save it being sold at auction.

The Thomas Hudson artwork, believed to show Lady Elizabeth Yorke as a shepherdess, had been on loan to Wimpole for several decades.

It was offered to the National Trust for them to buy, but they were unable to find the money.

The painting was returned to the lender earlier this year and scheduled to be auctioned off in the next few days.

However, an anonymous donor came forward and the painting has been rehung at Wimpole.

From the age of 15, Lady Elizabeth lived at Wimpole Hall until her marriage in 1748 to Admiral George Anson. The National Trust said she was a writer and was heavily involved in political life.

John Chu, senior National Curator, said: “Thomas Hudson was on the lips of everyone in high society at that time: a ‘go-to’ artist able to fulfil the needs of the wealthy and influential in need of a quality likeness."

The acquisition continues in the footsteps of Elsie Bambridge, the last private owner of Wimpole and only surviving child of Rudyard Kipling.