Item Ref
coventry
Oil on canvas laid on board. Signed and dated lower left 'G Kneller F. 1720'.
Inscribed on the reverse: 'The Earle of Coventry: 1720'
WILLIAM COVENTRY, 5th Earl of Coventry was born in 1676, the son of Walter Coventry and his wife Anne Holcombe, daughter of Humphrey Holcombe, a wealthy London merchant.
William inherited the Earldom in 1719 but was only distantly related to the Earl’s of Coventry, his grandfather being the youngest brother of Thomas Coventry, 1st Baron Coventry. It is perhaps for this reason we see the large Coventry coat of arms painted on the wall to the right, behind William. Although the composition is a typical format of Kneller’s later works, the inclusion of the family coat of arms surmounted by the Earl’s coronet is
most unusual. William appears to have moved into Croome Court, the Coventry family seat built in 1649, as soon as he became the 5th Earl and immediately went on to improve the earnings of the estate. William’s son George later went on to employ Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown to redesign the gardens and house in a style that befit the mid 18th century fashions.
1719 was also the year that William was married, to Elizabeth Allan, daughter of John Allen of Westminster, of whom Kneller also painted in a now lost portrait shortly after the marriage. This portrait was thus almost certainly painted to celebrate both William’s rise to the peerage and his marriage. Indeed, he points to the left, out of the composition, suggesting that when the portrait was hung at Croome it was placed next to Kneller’s
portrayal of Elizabeth and would thus show William indicating his new wife. William’s lavish maroon velvet jacket covered in an abundance of gold brocade is significantly more decorative than many jackets worn by other nobleman in Kneller’s portraits. it is clear to see William wished to visually display his wealth and status.
Kneller’s composition, which was considered to instil the sitter with an authoritative elegance, was much favoured by many sitters.
SIR GODFREY KNELLER, who was born in Lubeck in 1646 and first travelled to England in 1676, had risen to fame throughout the English Court for his ability to rapidly paint highly skilled portraits. After the death of Sir Peter Lely, Kneller was appointed Principle Painter in Ordinary to the Crown by Charles II. He was then knighted by William III after painting the Hampton Court Beauties series and made a Baronet by George I on the 24 May 1715, an unprecedented endowment for an artist in Britain.
One of Kneller’s most important commissions was painting the portraits of the members of the Kit-Kat club, an influential society made up of members and supporters of the Whig party. William Coventry would almost certainly be aware of these portraits as he was the Whig MP for Bridport in Dorset until he inherited his Earldom, after which he took his seat in the house of Lords. On the 22 March 1720 he was appointed to George I's Privy Council
and in the same year he was appointed the Lord Lieutenant of Worcestershire.
William’s grandson, the Rt. Hon John Coventry moved this portrait along with Kneller’s portrait of Elizabeth, Countess of Coventry, from Croome to another Coventry estate, Burgate Manor in Wiltshire. It was then sold from this estate at
Sotheby’s in 1929 by John Coventry Esq.
SIZE: 53.5 x 44 x 3.25 inches including the frame.
PROVENANCE: *Croome Court, Worcestershire
*Burgate Manor, Fordingbridge, Wiltshire
*Sothbey’s, London, Property of Sir John Coventry Esq., 15 May 1929 (Lot 82)
*Private Collection, London
*Christie’s, London, Anonymous Sale, 17 October 1986 (Lot 101)
*Private Collection, Monte Carlo
£19,850