Cardinal John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

Rebecca Dulcibella Orpen Ferrers, later Mrs Edward Henege Dering (1830 – 1923). Oil painting on canvas, Cardinal John Henry Newman (1801-1890) by Rebecca Dulcibella Ferrers Orpen, later Mrs Edward Dering (1830-1923), signed and dated R.Ferrers, 1883. A three-quarter-length portrait of the Cardinal who is seated facing left and almost in profile. To his right is an open window and to his left, a table on which is an open book. He rests his left elbow on the table and places his right hand on his knee. He wears black robes with red trimmings, a red biretta and a large gold cross around his neck. A coat of arms is painted at top right. Cardinal John Henry Newman, was a friend of the family and apparently influential in turning Lady Georgina Chatterton, Edward Dering and Dulcibella Ferrers towards Roman Catholicism in 1865, while they were still living at Finchden. Afterwards, when based in Birmingham, he occasionally visited Baddesley Clinton. He is said to have given only one sitting for this portrait, and to have fallen out with Rebecca, when she published letters that he regarded as confidential. Newman was born in the City of London, the eldest of a family of three sons and three daughters. His father, John Newman, was a banker with Ramsbottom, Newman and Company in Lombard Street. His mother, Jemima (née Fourdrinier), was descended from French Huguenot refugees in England. He was received into the Roman Catholic Church on 9 October 1845. Newman's elevation to the rank of cardinal took place on 12 May, making him Cardinal-Deacon of San Giorgio al Velabro. Baddesley Clinton, Warwickshire (Accredited Museum)