Circle of William Beechey (1808-1895) Portrait of Major-Gen...

Hammer

€4,600

Circle of William Beechey (1808-1895)

Portrait of Major-General George Dean-Pitt (1781-1851), O.O.C., in gilt frame, 74cms x 61cms (29" x 24"). (1)

Provenance:  Purchased Graham Walpole, London, 2012.

In 1797, a young man named George Dean enlisted in the Marines at Portsmouth. Although he claimed to be nineteen years old, and a plumber by trade, Dean was probably younger. And while he said Berkshire was his birthplace, Ireland was equally likely, and his mother may have been one of the Deans of Cork, well-known builders and property developers. George Dean was an illegitimate child; his father was George Pitt, 2nd Baron Rivers. Although elected MP for Dorset, Baron Rivers was an unremarkable politician who never once spoke in the House of Commons. However he was a friend of the Prince of Wales, the future King George IV, and so could pave the way for his son to have a successful military career. Dean did well, and proved an able soldier. After serving as a sergeant, in 1805 he enlisted as an Ensign in the 96th Regiment of Foot and soon afterwards was promoted to Lieutenant in the newly-created Royal African Corps. He then served with the Royal West Indian Rangers. By 1809 Dean was a Captain, in the West Indies. Two years later, probably as a result of intervention by his father, he was appointed Aide-de-Camp to General Robert Ballard Long and posted to Lisbon. Wounded at the Battle of Albuera, he retired on half-pay, with the rank of Major. In 1819, a year year after his marriage to Susan Baillie, he changed his surname to Dean-Pitt and returned to active service, becoming a Lieutenant-Colonel with the 80th Regiment of Foot, stationed in Malta. 
In 1834 he was stationed in Ireland, where his son William was born, and around two years later he had his portrait painted. The present portrait is either that same work, or a replica painted by the same artist. Dean-Pitt crowned his career by being appointed Lieutenant-Governor of North Island, New Zealand, arriving in 1847 at Auckland on the barque "Minerva". However, three years later, in failing health, he died. According to one newspaper account he was attacked by Maoris while seated in his office and fatally wounded, but this is not mentioned in most accounts of his death. Dean-Pitt was buried with full military honours in Symonds Street Cemetery. In addition to his titles of rank, he was a Military Knight of the Guelphic Order of Hanover. His two sons, George and William, were also army officers in New Zealand, the former becoming a general and remembered for raising the troop in Auckland known as "Pitt's Four Hundred". George Jnr ended up as Keeper of the Crown Jewels in the Tower of London. In all, over a period of half a century, four generations of the Pitt family were involved in suppressing Maori rebellion in New Zealand. [see Gervase Belfield "Major-General George Dean-Pitt: From Glazier and Plumber to Knight of Hanover" in the Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research Vol 92 (2014) p. 177]

Dr. Peter Murray, 2023