Pen and ink illustration created for publication in an illustrated newspaper or magazine in 1901. The sketch is entitled 'An Earl's Matrimonial Affairs' and the main image depicts Earl Russell with his second wife 'Mrs Molly Somerville' (neé Marion Cooke). In the top corner is an image of the Earl's first wife, Countess Russell, neé Mabel (Mary) Edith Scott.
The sketch was drawn by F.V.Poole and has been signed by the artist in the bottom right hand corner.
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John Francis Stanley Russell, 2nd Earl Russell known as Frank Russell, (1865 – 1931) was the elder surviving son of Viscount Amberley and his wife the Honourable Katharine Stanley. He was the grandson of former prime minister, John Russell, 1st Earl Russell and elder brother of philosopher Bertrand Russell. He was married three times, lastly to Elizabeth von Arnim. In 1901 he became infamous when he was tried for bigamy in 1901 after which he gained a reputation as 'The Wicked Earl'.
His first wife was Mary Edith Scott (Mabel) Mabel, who made her living by singing on the variety stage even while she was married to the Earl. They married in 1890, and Mabel tried to divorce him (and lost) in 1891; she sued for restoration of conjugal rights in 1894. The earl requested a judicial separation in 1895, but she appealed and it was overturned.
Russell next married Marion Cooke (born c.1857-1858), the divorced wife of George John Somerville, in the United States in 1900, after establishing domicile in that country and obtaining a divorce in Nevada. The British authorities considered such a divorce invalid, and Lord Russell was arrested and was convicted of bigamy in the House of Lords on 18 July 1901. The first Countess Russell did then obtain a divorce, and the Earl finally married Mrs Somerville on 31 October 1901, three days after it became absolute. His second wife divorced him in 1915 and Russell married the novelist Elizabeth von Arnim (née Mary Annette Beauchamp) the next year.
This item is one of several theatrical drawings from a collection of sketches commissioned from contemporary artists to be printed in illustrated magazines. The collection was donated to the museum by Sir William James Ingram in 1914.
