Portrait of a Lady 1631, by Jan ...
Item Ref
8553
Oil on marouflaged panel in good quality 18th century carved and giltwood frame.
Signed with initials and dated 'Anno. 1631. JVR" upper right.
A superb portrait of a gently smiling young woman; she wears a pearl necklace, the essential accessory of the period, but modestly conceals it beneath her fine muslin. No such modesty however, for the magnificent jewellery she wears across her bosom.
Her black clothing, fashionably slashed, is of the finest quality, beautifully decorated and contrasting with the exquisite white lace spread across her shoulders. In the work of great portraitists black is never dull, its pictorial potential is fully utilised.
Black is an ideal background against which gold can stand out to dramatic effect and to contrast with the crisp white linen and lace. This extreme opposition between black and white is both austere and exciting, and is a characteristic feature of the 17th century Dutch portrait.
The theory has been put forward that the sitter is Amalia van Solms, wife of the Dutch Stadtholder (and grandmother of England's William III), who was painted many times by many different artists.
However, we consider this unlikely, as does Fred Meijer, curator at RKD, Netherlands Institute for Art History, at The Hague. 'While it is totally conceivable that Amalia van Solms sat for van Ravesteyn, I do not see any striking resemblance. Otherwise this appears to be a fully characteristic work by the artist.'
Regardless of the identity of the sitter this is a superb and sensitive portrait by a famous artist from the Netherland's Golden Age of painting.
JAN ANTHONISZ. VAN RAVESTEYN
(c. 1572-1657) was one of the most important and successful Northern Netherlandish portrait painters of the first half of the seventeenth century, and the leading portraitist of the government centre, The Hague. He was working there for the Stadholder's Court, for local patricians and for the upper classes of other cities in the Southern part of Holland and in Zeeland.
His sitters are often depicted with rich costumes in the latest fashion, intentionally alluding to their wealth and status.
His earliest signed work is the well-known tondo portrait of the young Hugo Grotius, dated 1599 (Fondation Custodia, Paris).
As early as 1604 Karel van Mander mentioned the artist as one of the most competent portraitists of his time. A large number of signed and dated works from the next decades - especially from the year 1611 - are known, including several group portraits of the Hague civic guard.
The last dated portraits are from 1641, leading to the conclusion that the painter produced little, if anything, in the last fifteen years of his life. The general style of his work is closely related to that of the Delft portraitist Michiel Jansz. van Mierevelt (1567-1641), but is generally less dry and often more flattering than the latter’s.
SIZE: 28 x 24.25 inches panel size.
34.5 x 31.5 inches inc. frame.
PROVENANCE:
*Collection of Alfred Morrisson M.P. of Fonthill House, Tisbury, Wiltshire. (see image 10). Alfred Morrisson (1821-1887) was an outstanding collector of fine and rare items.
*Latterly in the Private Collection of a Lady.
VERSO: two Victorian printed labels bearing much information of "M & B Bartington; Est. 1836. No. 58 Wardour Street, Soho" framer and restorer.
Victorian handwritten label "Alfred Morrisson Esq. No. 106. Three quarter picture of Dutch Lady by Jan van Ravesteyn. 20/12/87".
Signed with initials and dated 'Anno. 1631. JVR" upper right.
A superb portrait of a gently smiling young woman; she wears a pearl necklace, the essential accessory of the period, but modestly conceals it beneath her fine muslin. No such modesty however, for the magnificent jewellery she wears across her bosom.
Her black clothing, fashionably slashed, is of the finest quality, beautifully decorated and contrasting with the exquisite white lace spread across her shoulders. In the work of great portraitists black is never dull, its pictorial potential is fully utilised.
Black is an ideal background against which gold can stand out to dramatic effect and to contrast with the crisp white linen and lace. This extreme opposition between black and white is both austere and exciting, and is a characteristic feature of the 17th century Dutch portrait.
The theory has been put forward that the sitter is Amalia van Solms, wife of the Dutch Stadtholder (and grandmother of England's William III), who was painted many times by many different artists.
However, we consider this unlikely, as does Fred Meijer, curator at RKD, Netherlands Institute for Art History, at The Hague. 'While it is totally conceivable that Amalia van Solms sat for van Ravesteyn, I do not see any striking resemblance. Otherwise this appears to be a fully characteristic work by the artist.'
Regardless of the identity of the sitter this is a superb and sensitive portrait by a famous artist from the Netherland's Golden Age of painting.
JAN ANTHONISZ. VAN RAVESTEYN
(c. 1572-1657) was one of the most important and successful Northern Netherlandish portrait painters of the first half of the seventeenth century, and the leading portraitist of the government centre, The Hague. He was working there for the Stadholder's Court, for local patricians and for the upper classes of other cities in the Southern part of Holland and in Zeeland.
His sitters are often depicted with rich costumes in the latest fashion, intentionally alluding to their wealth and status.
His earliest signed work is the well-known tondo portrait of the young Hugo Grotius, dated 1599 (Fondation Custodia, Paris).
As early as 1604 Karel van Mander mentioned the artist as one of the most competent portraitists of his time. A large number of signed and dated works from the next decades - especially from the year 1611 - are known, including several group portraits of the Hague civic guard.
The last dated portraits are from 1641, leading to the conclusion that the painter produced little, if anything, in the last fifteen years of his life. The general style of his work is closely related to that of the Delft portraitist Michiel Jansz. van Mierevelt (1567-1641), but is generally less dry and often more flattering than the latter’s.
SIZE: 28 x 24.25 inches panel size.
34.5 x 31.5 inches inc. frame.
PROVENANCE:
*Collection of Alfred Morrisson M.P. of Fonthill House, Tisbury, Wiltshire. (see image 10). Alfred Morrisson (1821-1887) was an outstanding collector of fine and rare items.
*Latterly in the Private Collection of a Lady.
VERSO: two Victorian printed labels bearing much information of "M & B Bartington; Est. 1836. No. 58 Wardour Street, Soho" framer and restorer.
Victorian handwritten label "Alfred Morrisson Esq. No. 106. Three quarter picture of Dutch Lady by Jan van Ravesteyn. 20/12/87".
£25,000
Portrait of a Gentleman 1666, Attributed to ...
Item Ref
8571
Oil on canvas; a superb quality portrait in a good 17th century carved and giltwood frame.
This powerful portrait has been known as Richard Cromwell, Oliver's third son, for many years, but, although the sitter bears a resemblance to the second Lord Protector, it is a doubtful attribution.
Looking directly and frankly at the viewer the sitter, almost certainly a military officer, makes no concession to any of the more foppish fashions of the day. He wears his own hair, not a wig, his cravat is simple. His sleeves have a silver thread pattern and over all he wears a breastplate with a buff leather coat beneath.
Although plain, all these items are of good quality...indeed, the young man must have been wealthy in order to commission such a high quality (and therefore expensive) portrait.
The different textures and appearance of all these materials, and the flesh and hair, are exquisitely painted by Hoogstraten.
Upper left, probably added in the 18th or 19th century, is the later inscription 'RICHARD CROMWELL', and to the middle right is another very faint inscription which seems to be contemporary with the portrait 'Aet. 23. Ano. 1666'.
If this date and the sitter's age are correct then it cannot be Cromwell who was born in 1626.
SAMUEL VAN HOOGSTRATEN (1627 - 1678)
Samuel van Hoogstraten was born in Dordrecht on 2 August 1627. He was first the pupil of his father, then, some time after his father's death in 1640, he entered Rembrandt's studio.
He painted genre scenes and portraits and he is well known as a specialist in perspective effects.
Hoogstraten travelled widely, visiting Rome and Vienna, where he was patronized by the Emperor. He was in London from 1662 to 1666, the time of the Great Fire.
He finally settled in his native town where he was made a Provost of the Mint. He published a book in 1678 "lnleyding tot de Hooge Schoole der Schilderkonst" (An Introduction to the Art of Painting), one of the few handbooks on painting published in Holland in that century. He died in Dordrecht on 19 October 1678.
SIZE: 29 x 23.5 inches canvas.
36.5 x 31 inches inc. frame.
PROVENANCE: Earl Granard K.P., Castle Forbes, County Longford, Ireland.(see image 6).
Private London Collection.
VERSO: Stencil "Earl of Granard KP Castle Forbes".
Hand written inscription, early 20th c. in appearance: "RICHARD CROMWELL. Painted by Robert Walker died 1659" (Unlikely attribution as the portrait is dated eight years after Walker's death.)
This powerful portrait has been known as Richard Cromwell, Oliver's third son, for many years, but, although the sitter bears a resemblance to the second Lord Protector, it is a doubtful attribution.
Looking directly and frankly at the viewer the sitter, almost certainly a military officer, makes no concession to any of the more foppish fashions of the day. He wears his own hair, not a wig, his cravat is simple. His sleeves have a silver thread pattern and over all he wears a breastplate with a buff leather coat beneath.
Although plain, all these items are of good quality...indeed, the young man must have been wealthy in order to commission such a high quality (and therefore expensive) portrait.
The different textures and appearance of all these materials, and the flesh and hair, are exquisitely painted by Hoogstraten.
Upper left, probably added in the 18th or 19th century, is the later inscription 'RICHARD CROMWELL', and to the middle right is another very faint inscription which seems to be contemporary with the portrait 'Aet. 23. Ano. 1666'.
If this date and the sitter's age are correct then it cannot be Cromwell who was born in 1626.
SAMUEL VAN HOOGSTRATEN (1627 - 1678)
Samuel van Hoogstraten was born in Dordrecht on 2 August 1627. He was first the pupil of his father, then, some time after his father's death in 1640, he entered Rembrandt's studio.
He painted genre scenes and portraits and he is well known as a specialist in perspective effects.
Hoogstraten travelled widely, visiting Rome and Vienna, where he was patronized by the Emperor. He was in London from 1662 to 1666, the time of the Great Fire.
He finally settled in his native town where he was made a Provost of the Mint. He published a book in 1678 "lnleyding tot de Hooge Schoole der Schilderkonst" (An Introduction to the Art of Painting), one of the few handbooks on painting published in Holland in that century. He died in Dordrecht on 19 October 1678.
SIZE: 29 x 23.5 inches canvas.
36.5 x 31 inches inc. frame.
PROVENANCE: Earl Granard K.P., Castle Forbes, County Longford, Ireland.(see image 6).
Private London Collection.
VERSO: Stencil "Earl of Granard KP Castle Forbes".
Hand written inscription, early 20th c. in appearance: "RICHARD CROMWELL. Painted by Robert Walker died 1659" (Unlikely attribution as the portrait is dated eight years after Walker's death.)
£23,000
Portrait of Guilford Killigrew 1709, by John ...
Item Ref
9051
Oil on canvas in a fine quality period frame.
The attractive young sitter points towards a plumed helmet, his hand grasping a sword; this is a reference to his aristocratic ancestry and his intention to become a soldier.
His coat of arms, name and the year 1709 are inscribed on the stone plinth.
GUILFORD KILLIGREW was born circa 1695. He was the son of Charles Killigrew and Jemima Bockenham.
He served as a cornet and later Lt Col of Lord Mark Kerr's Regiment of Dragoons according to the 1740 army list.
Guilford died on 18 February 1751. He left no issue. He was described as Lt Colonel of Kerr's Dragoons.
His will was proved on 23 July 1751 at the Prerogative Court of Canterbury. He left his property in trust for Guilford Boyes, living under his protection, who was baptised 22 Sep 1730 at Allerton in Yorkshire, as daughter of John Boyes, and apprenticed to a milliner in Manchester. A Guilfred Killigrew married on 18 Sep 1759 at Manchester Cathedral to John Wright.
Guilford's father was Charles Killigrew (1655–1725) an English courtier, theatre manager and Master of the Revels.
Born at Maastricht on 29 December 1655, he was son of Thomas Killigrew the elder, by his second wife, Charlotte, daughter of John de Hesse of Holland. He was Gentleman of the Privy Chamber to Charles II, 1670, James II, 1685, and William III and Mary II, 1689. He was Master of the Revels in 1680, patentee of Drury Lane Theatre in 1682, and Commissioner of Prizes in 1707.
Killigrew lived at Somerset House, London, and Thornham Hall, Suffolk. His varied acquirements won him the friendship of John Dryden (cf. Dedication of Juvenal, 1693, p. xxiii), Humphrey Prideaux, and others. He was buried in the Savoy Hospital on 8 January 1725, leaving by his wife Jemima, niece of Richard Bokenham, mercer, of London, two sons, Charles (died 1756) and Guilford. His library was sold in the December following.
JOHN CLOSTERMAN (1660-1711) was born in Osnabruck, the son of an artist. His early training was from his father, but in 1679 he moved to Paris where for two years he studied under the portraitist Francois de Troy.
In 1681 Closterman came to England and entered into partnership with the established portrait painter John Riley.
By 1683 he had developed an independent practice; he was adept at baroque poses still with a slightly French influence, with rather flashily painted drapery
In the 1690's, as his reputation grew, he painted for more exalted and aristocratic patrons, like the Dukes of Somerset and Marlborough.
He lived in great splendour in his house in Covent Garden, London, with his wife Hannah.
In 1699, after a visit to Rome, he fell under the spell of the Antique and painted his famous full length portraits of the Earl of Shaftesbury in Classical pose.
SIZE: 67 x 42.25 inches including frame.
PROVENANCE:
*By descent through the Killigrew family of Thornham Hall, Eye, Suffolk.
*The Collection of the late Anne, Lady Winnington of Brockhill Court, Worcestershire, and London.
Verso: a label dated 1937 incorrectly attributing the portrait to Kneller.
The attractive young sitter points towards a plumed helmet, his hand grasping a sword; this is a reference to his aristocratic ancestry and his intention to become a soldier.
His coat of arms, name and the year 1709 are inscribed on the stone plinth.
GUILFORD KILLIGREW was born circa 1695. He was the son of Charles Killigrew and Jemima Bockenham.
He served as a cornet and later Lt Col of Lord Mark Kerr's Regiment of Dragoons according to the 1740 army list.
Guilford died on 18 February 1751. He left no issue. He was described as Lt Colonel of Kerr's Dragoons.
His will was proved on 23 July 1751 at the Prerogative Court of Canterbury. He left his property in trust for Guilford Boyes, living under his protection, who was baptised 22 Sep 1730 at Allerton in Yorkshire, as daughter of John Boyes, and apprenticed to a milliner in Manchester. A Guilfred Killigrew married on 18 Sep 1759 at Manchester Cathedral to John Wright.
Guilford's father was Charles Killigrew (1655–1725) an English courtier, theatre manager and Master of the Revels.
Born at Maastricht on 29 December 1655, he was son of Thomas Killigrew the elder, by his second wife, Charlotte, daughter of John de Hesse of Holland. He was Gentleman of the Privy Chamber to Charles II, 1670, James II, 1685, and William III and Mary II, 1689. He was Master of the Revels in 1680, patentee of Drury Lane Theatre in 1682, and Commissioner of Prizes in 1707.
Killigrew lived at Somerset House, London, and Thornham Hall, Suffolk. His varied acquirements won him the friendship of John Dryden (cf. Dedication of Juvenal, 1693, p. xxiii), Humphrey Prideaux, and others. He was buried in the Savoy Hospital on 8 January 1725, leaving by his wife Jemima, niece of Richard Bokenham, mercer, of London, two sons, Charles (died 1756) and Guilford. His library was sold in the December following.
JOHN CLOSTERMAN (1660-1711) was born in Osnabruck, the son of an artist. His early training was from his father, but in 1679 he moved to Paris where for two years he studied under the portraitist Francois de Troy.
In 1681 Closterman came to England and entered into partnership with the established portrait painter John Riley.
By 1683 he had developed an independent practice; he was adept at baroque poses still with a slightly French influence, with rather flashily painted drapery
In the 1690's, as his reputation grew, he painted for more exalted and aristocratic patrons, like the Dukes of Somerset and Marlborough.
He lived in great splendour in his house in Covent Garden, London, with his wife Hannah.
In 1699, after a visit to Rome, he fell under the spell of the Antique and painted his famous full length portraits of the Earl of Shaftesbury in Classical pose.
SIZE: 67 x 42.25 inches including frame.
PROVENANCE:
*By descent through the Killigrew family of Thornham Hall, Eye, Suffolk.
*The Collection of the late Anne, Lady Winnington of Brockhill Court, Worcestershire, and London.
Verso: a label dated 1937 incorrectly attributing the portrait to Kneller.
£14,950
Portrait of Philippe II, Duke of Orleans ...
Item Ref
8955
Oil on canvas in a good quality reproduction frame.
This is a superb quality painting, the depiction of the various materials...silk, lace, gold, steel, hair and flesh is exquisite. Hands are often problematic with lesser artists but here they are totally realistic.
The Duke wears the Bourbon white silk sash and holds the baton of command of a high ranking officer.
PHILIPPE II, DUKE OF ORLEANS (1674-1723), Regent of France, the son of Philip I, duke of Orleans, and his second wife, the princess palatine, was born on the 2nd of August 1674, and had his first experience of arms at the siege of Mons in 1691. His marriage with Françoise-Marie de Bourbon, Mlle. de Blois, the legitimized daughter of Louis XIV, won him the favour of the king. He fought with distinction at Steinkerk, Neerwinden and Namur (1692-95). During the next few years, being without employment, he studied natural science. He was next given a command in Italy (1706) and in Spain (1707-08) where he gained some important successes, but he cherished lofty ambitions and was suspected of wishing to take the place of Philip V on the throne of Spain. Louis XIV was angry at these pretensions, and for a long time held him in disfavor. In his will, however, he appointed him president of the council of regency of the young King Louis XV (1715). After the death of the king, the duke of Orleans went to the parlement, had the will annulled, and himself invested with absolute power. At first he made a good use of this, counselling economy, decreasing taxation, disbanding 25,000 soldiers and restoring liberty to the persecuted Jansenists. But the inquisitorial measures which he had begun against the financiers led to disturbances.
There existed a party of malcontents who wished to transfer the regency from Orleans to Philip V, king of Spain. A conspiracy was formed, under the inspiration of Cardinal Alberoni, first minister of Spain, and directed by the prince of Cellamare, Spanish ambassador in France, with the complicity of the duke and duchess of Maine; but in 1718 it was discovered and defeated. Dubois, formerly tutor to the duke of Orleans, and now his all-powerful minister, caused war to be declared against Spain, with the support of the emperor, and of England and Holland (Quadruple Alliance). After some successes of the French marshal, the duke of Berwick, in Spain, and of the imperial troops in Sicily, Philip V made peace with the regent (1720).
On the majority of the king, which was declared on the 15th of February 1723, the duke of Orleans resigned the supreme power; but he became first minister to the king, and remained in office until his death on the 23rd of December 1723. The regent had great qualities, both brilliant and solid, which were unfortunately spoiled by an excessive taste for pleasure. His dissolute manners found only too many imitators, and the regency was one of the most corrupt periods in French history.
Father: Philip I, Duke of Orléans
Mother: Elizabeth Charlotte, Princess Palatine (b. 1652, d. 1722)
Wife: Françoise-Marie de Bourbon, Mlle. de Blois (b. 1677, m. 1698, d. 1749)
Son: Louis, duke of Orléans (b. 1703, d. 1752)
JEAN-BAPTISTE SANTERRE (1651-1717)
Santerre was born at Magny-en-Vexin, near Pontoise. A pupil of Bon Boullogne, he began his painting career at a portraitist, with a notable work being a portrait of Marie Leszczynska with the Maison de St Cyr in the background (now at the musée de Versailles). He won a major reputation thanks to his academies. His most notable work is his Susanna Bathing (Louvre), the diploma work executed by him in 1704, when he was received into the Académie (1730–1770) and Jean-Honoré Fragonard (1732–1806). He painted the Duc d'Orleans on several occasions
SIZE: 52.5 x 51.75 inches inc. frame.
PROVENANCE: Private collection, East Kent.
This is a superb quality painting, the depiction of the various materials...silk, lace, gold, steel, hair and flesh is exquisite. Hands are often problematic with lesser artists but here they are totally realistic.
The Duke wears the Bourbon white silk sash and holds the baton of command of a high ranking officer.
PHILIPPE II, DUKE OF ORLEANS (1674-1723), Regent of France, the son of Philip I, duke of Orleans, and his second wife, the princess palatine, was born on the 2nd of August 1674, and had his first experience of arms at the siege of Mons in 1691. His marriage with Françoise-Marie de Bourbon, Mlle. de Blois, the legitimized daughter of Louis XIV, won him the favour of the king. He fought with distinction at Steinkerk, Neerwinden and Namur (1692-95). During the next few years, being without employment, he studied natural science. He was next given a command in Italy (1706) and in Spain (1707-08) where he gained some important successes, but he cherished lofty ambitions and was suspected of wishing to take the place of Philip V on the throne of Spain. Louis XIV was angry at these pretensions, and for a long time held him in disfavor. In his will, however, he appointed him president of the council of regency of the young King Louis XV (1715). After the death of the king, the duke of Orleans went to the parlement, had the will annulled, and himself invested with absolute power. At first he made a good use of this, counselling economy, decreasing taxation, disbanding 25,000 soldiers and restoring liberty to the persecuted Jansenists. But the inquisitorial measures which he had begun against the financiers led to disturbances.
There existed a party of malcontents who wished to transfer the regency from Orleans to Philip V, king of Spain. A conspiracy was formed, under the inspiration of Cardinal Alberoni, first minister of Spain, and directed by the prince of Cellamare, Spanish ambassador in France, with the complicity of the duke and duchess of Maine; but in 1718 it was discovered and defeated. Dubois, formerly tutor to the duke of Orleans, and now his all-powerful minister, caused war to be declared against Spain, with the support of the emperor, and of England and Holland (Quadruple Alliance). After some successes of the French marshal, the duke of Berwick, in Spain, and of the imperial troops in Sicily, Philip V made peace with the regent (1720).
On the majority of the king, which was declared on the 15th of February 1723, the duke of Orleans resigned the supreme power; but he became first minister to the king, and remained in office until his death on the 23rd of December 1723. The regent had great qualities, both brilliant and solid, which were unfortunately spoiled by an excessive taste for pleasure. His dissolute manners found only too many imitators, and the regency was one of the most corrupt periods in French history.
Father: Philip I, Duke of Orléans
Mother: Elizabeth Charlotte, Princess Palatine (b. 1652, d. 1722)
Wife: Françoise-Marie de Bourbon, Mlle. de Blois (b. 1677, m. 1698, d. 1749)
Son: Louis, duke of Orléans (b. 1703, d. 1752)
JEAN-BAPTISTE SANTERRE (1651-1717)
Santerre was born at Magny-en-Vexin, near Pontoise. A pupil of Bon Boullogne, he began his painting career at a portraitist, with a notable work being a portrait of Marie Leszczynska with the Maison de St Cyr in the background (now at the musée de Versailles). He won a major reputation thanks to his academies. His most notable work is his Susanna Bathing (Louvre), the diploma work executed by him in 1704, when he was received into the Académie (1730–1770) and Jean-Honoré Fragonard (1732–1806). He painted the Duc d'Orleans on several occasions
SIZE: 52.5 x 51.75 inches inc. frame.
PROVENANCE: Private collection, East Kent.
£13,250
Portrait of Mary Dodding 1677, by John ...
Item Ref
9058
Oil on canvas in a gilt reproduction frame of correct type.
This is a very high quality portrait typical of Wright's fine and sensitive work, with the haunting sense of character that Wright conveys. He would appear to have been far more interested in conveying intelligence than rivals such as Lely, and here, as always, we sense that the sitter is of an alert and enquiring mind.
Inscribed upper left "Mary, Daughter of George Dodding Esq. A.D. 1677."
This is almost certainly a portrait painted to mark Mary's marriage to Thomas Preston.
The surname Dodding was first found in Somerset at Doddington, which predates the Norman Conquest dating back to c. 975 when it was first listed as Dundingtune. By the time of the Domesday Book in 1086, the village was known as Dodington.
There are other places similarly named in the Domesday Book but this is the only pre-Conquest village making it of Saxon origin. In early days, some of the family were found much further north in Cumberland at Kirk-Oswald where the estates of Kirk-Oswald were granted by Elizabeth I to the Dodding family.
MARY DODDING was the daughter of George Dodding Esq. of Conishead Priory; he was the son of Colonel George Dodding, (who had raised and commanded one of the Lancashire Regiments of Foot for Parliament during the Civil War, mainly recruited around Cartmel and Grange-over-Sands)
Colonel Dodding was the son of Miles Dodding Esq, of Conishead Priory, Lancashire.
Mary married Thomas Preston M.P. for Lancaster in, it is thought, 1677. Thomas was born in 1646 and died in 1697. He is buried at Cartmel, Cumbria. Mary's birth and death dates are not known, but the marriage was brief as Thomas married again and had two children from that union. There were no offspring from his earlier marriage, so it is very probable that Mary died in childbirth as was very common.
JOHN MICHAEL WRIGHT (May 1617 – July 1694) was a portrait painter in the Baroque style. Described variously as English and Scottish, Wright trained in Edinburgh under the Scots painter George Jamesone, and acquired a considerable reputation as an artist and scholar during a long sojourn in Rome. There he was admitted to the Accademia di San Luca, and was associated with some of the leading artists of his generation. He was engaged by Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria, the governor of the Spanish Netherlands, to acquire artworks in Oliver Cromwell's England in 1655. He took up permanent residence in England from 1656, and served as Court Painter before and after the English Restoration. He was a favourite of the restored Stuart court, a client of both Charles II and James II, and was a witness to many of the political manoeuvres of the era.
Wright is currently rated as one of the leading indigenous British painters of his generation, largely for the distinctive realism in his portraiture. Perhaps due to the unusually cosmopolitan nature of his experience, he was favoured by patrons at the highest level of society in an age in which foreign artists were usually preferred. Wright's paintings of royalty, aristocracy and gentry are included amongst the collections of many leading galleries today.
SIZE: 35.25 x 30.25 inc. frame.
PROVENANCE: latterly in a private collection in Sidmouth, Devon.
This is a very high quality portrait typical of Wright's fine and sensitive work, with the haunting sense of character that Wright conveys. He would appear to have been far more interested in conveying intelligence than rivals such as Lely, and here, as always, we sense that the sitter is of an alert and enquiring mind.
Inscribed upper left "Mary, Daughter of George Dodding Esq. A.D. 1677."
This is almost certainly a portrait painted to mark Mary's marriage to Thomas Preston.
The surname Dodding was first found in Somerset at Doddington, which predates the Norman Conquest dating back to c. 975 when it was first listed as Dundingtune. By the time of the Domesday Book in 1086, the village was known as Dodington.
There are other places similarly named in the Domesday Book but this is the only pre-Conquest village making it of Saxon origin. In early days, some of the family were found much further north in Cumberland at Kirk-Oswald where the estates of Kirk-Oswald were granted by Elizabeth I to the Dodding family.
MARY DODDING was the daughter of George Dodding Esq. of Conishead Priory; he was the son of Colonel George Dodding, (who had raised and commanded one of the Lancashire Regiments of Foot for Parliament during the Civil War, mainly recruited around Cartmel and Grange-over-Sands)
Colonel Dodding was the son of Miles Dodding Esq, of Conishead Priory, Lancashire.
Mary married Thomas Preston M.P. for Lancaster in, it is thought, 1677. Thomas was born in 1646 and died in 1697. He is buried at Cartmel, Cumbria. Mary's birth and death dates are not known, but the marriage was brief as Thomas married again and had two children from that union. There were no offspring from his earlier marriage, so it is very probable that Mary died in childbirth as was very common.
JOHN MICHAEL WRIGHT (May 1617 – July 1694) was a portrait painter in the Baroque style. Described variously as English and Scottish, Wright trained in Edinburgh under the Scots painter George Jamesone, and acquired a considerable reputation as an artist and scholar during a long sojourn in Rome. There he was admitted to the Accademia di San Luca, and was associated with some of the leading artists of his generation. He was engaged by Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria, the governor of the Spanish Netherlands, to acquire artworks in Oliver Cromwell's England in 1655. He took up permanent residence in England from 1656, and served as Court Painter before and after the English Restoration. He was a favourite of the restored Stuart court, a client of both Charles II and James II, and was a witness to many of the political manoeuvres of the era.
Wright is currently rated as one of the leading indigenous British painters of his generation, largely for the distinctive realism in his portraiture. Perhaps due to the unusually cosmopolitan nature of his experience, he was favoured by patrons at the highest level of society in an age in which foreign artists were usually preferred. Wright's paintings of royalty, aristocracy and gentry are included amongst the collections of many leading galleries today.
SIZE: 35.25 x 30.25 inc. frame.
PROVENANCE: latterly in a private collection in Sidmouth, Devon.
£12,950
Portrait of Prince Rupert, mid 17th century; ...
Item Ref
9068
Oil on canvas in a magnificent carved and gilt frame. It shows Rupert at about the age of 14 when he first became a soldier. After a pattern favoured by van Honthorst who painted Rupert, at different ages, several times. His Studio and those of his Circle produced a number of versions of van Honthorst's portraits of the senior Royalists.
Difficult to date precisely, most of these copies were produced around the middle of the 17th century, particularly during the time of the English Civil War and the King's execution in 1649. They were much in demand to adorn the private walls of Royalist supporters.
Rupert, Count Palatine of the Rhine, Duke of Bavaria, Duke of Cumberland, Earl of Holderness, commonly called PRINCE RUPERT OF THE RHINE, KG, PC, FRS ( 1619 – 1682), was a noted German soldier, admiral, scientist, sportsman, colonial governor and amateur artist during the 17th century. Rupert was a younger son of the German prince Frederick V, Elector Palatine and his wife Elizabeth, the eldest daughter of James I of England. Thus Rupert was the nephew of King Charles I of England, who made him Duke of Cumberland and Earl of Holderness, and the first cousin of King Charles II of England. His sister Electress Sophia was the mother of George I of Great Britain.
Prince Rupert had a varied career. He was a soldier from a young age, fighting against Spain in the Netherlands during the Eighty Years' War (1568–1648), and against the Holy Roman Emperor in Germany during the Thirty Years' War (1618–48). Aged 23, he was appointed commander of the Royalist cavalry during the English Civil War (1642–46), becoming the archetypal Cavalier of the war and ultimately the senior Royalist general. He surrendered after the fall of Bristol and was banished from England. He served under Louis XIV of France against Spain, and then as a Royalist privateer in the Caribbean. Following the Restoration, Rupert returned to England, becoming a senior British naval commander during the Second and Third Anglo-Dutch wars, engaging in scientific invention, art, and serving as the first Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company. Rupert died in England in 1682, aged 62.
Rupert is considered to have been a quick-thinking and energetic cavalry general, but ultimately undermined by his youthful impatience in dealing with his peers during the Civil War. In the Interregnum, Rupert continued the conflict against Parliament by sea from the Mediterranean to the Caribbean, showing considerable persistence in the face of adversity. As the head of the Royal Navy in his later years, he showed greater maturity and made impressive and long-lasting contributions to the Royal Navy's doctrine and development. As a colonial governor, Rupert shaped the political geography of modern Canada—Rupert's Land was named in his honour. Rupert's varied and numerous scientific and administrative interests combined with his considerable artistic skills made him one of the more colourful individuals of the Restoration period.
GERRIT VAN HONTHORST (1592 – 1656) was a Dutch Golden Age painter; born in Utrecht,
He built a considerable reputation both in the Dutch Republic and abroad. Queen Elizabeth of Bohemia, mother of Prince Rupert, sister of Charles I of England, then in exile in the Netherlands, commissioned Honthorst as a painter. Through her he became known to King Charles, who invited him to England in 1628.
After his return to Utrecht, Honthorst retained the patronage of the English monarch, painting for him, in 1631, a large picture of the king and queen of Bohemia and all their children. His popularity in the Netherlands was such that he opened a second studio in the Hague, where he painted portraits of members of the court. These were large studios, where the work of his assistants included making replicas of Honthorst's royal portraits.
SIZE: 32.5 x 28.5 inches including frame.
PROVENANCE: Wiltshire Private Collection.
Difficult to date precisely, most of these copies were produced around the middle of the 17th century, particularly during the time of the English Civil War and the King's execution in 1649. They were much in demand to adorn the private walls of Royalist supporters.
Rupert, Count Palatine of the Rhine, Duke of Bavaria, Duke of Cumberland, Earl of Holderness, commonly called PRINCE RUPERT OF THE RHINE, KG, PC, FRS ( 1619 – 1682), was a noted German soldier, admiral, scientist, sportsman, colonial governor and amateur artist during the 17th century. Rupert was a younger son of the German prince Frederick V, Elector Palatine and his wife Elizabeth, the eldest daughter of James I of England. Thus Rupert was the nephew of King Charles I of England, who made him Duke of Cumberland and Earl of Holderness, and the first cousin of King Charles II of England. His sister Electress Sophia was the mother of George I of Great Britain.
Prince Rupert had a varied career. He was a soldier from a young age, fighting against Spain in the Netherlands during the Eighty Years' War (1568–1648), and against the Holy Roman Emperor in Germany during the Thirty Years' War (1618–48). Aged 23, he was appointed commander of the Royalist cavalry during the English Civil War (1642–46), becoming the archetypal Cavalier of the war and ultimately the senior Royalist general. He surrendered after the fall of Bristol and was banished from England. He served under Louis XIV of France against Spain, and then as a Royalist privateer in the Caribbean. Following the Restoration, Rupert returned to England, becoming a senior British naval commander during the Second and Third Anglo-Dutch wars, engaging in scientific invention, art, and serving as the first Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company. Rupert died in England in 1682, aged 62.
Rupert is considered to have been a quick-thinking and energetic cavalry general, but ultimately undermined by his youthful impatience in dealing with his peers during the Civil War. In the Interregnum, Rupert continued the conflict against Parliament by sea from the Mediterranean to the Caribbean, showing considerable persistence in the face of adversity. As the head of the Royal Navy in his later years, he showed greater maturity and made impressive and long-lasting contributions to the Royal Navy's doctrine and development. As a colonial governor, Rupert shaped the political geography of modern Canada—Rupert's Land was named in his honour. Rupert's varied and numerous scientific and administrative interests combined with his considerable artistic skills made him one of the more colourful individuals of the Restoration period.
GERRIT VAN HONTHORST (1592 – 1656) was a Dutch Golden Age painter; born in Utrecht,
He built a considerable reputation both in the Dutch Republic and abroad. Queen Elizabeth of Bohemia, mother of Prince Rupert, sister of Charles I of England, then in exile in the Netherlands, commissioned Honthorst as a painter. Through her he became known to King Charles, who invited him to England in 1628.
After his return to Utrecht, Honthorst retained the patronage of the English monarch, painting for him, in 1631, a large picture of the king and queen of Bohemia and all their children. His popularity in the Netherlands was such that he opened a second studio in the Hague, where he painted portraits of members of the court. These were large studios, where the work of his assistants included making replicas of Honthorst's royal portraits.
SIZE: 32.5 x 28.5 inches including frame.
PROVENANCE: Wiltshire Private Collection.
£12,950
Portrait of Three French Aristocratic Children c.1690; ...
Item Ref
8763
Oil on canvas in 18th century giltwood frame.
A superb quality large 17th century portrait of three children of the French nobility. Such is the splendour and expense of their fashionable clothing that the girls may be princesses, especially as a young gentleman kneels before them. Possibly some of Louis XIV's numerous progeny sired on his several mistresses. Louis legitimised these children and they all received titles.
On the reverse of the painting is a very faint inscription which seems to read "Children of Louis 14th by Pierre Mignard".
The painting has been reduced in size and changed from rectangle to oval, probably in the late 18th century,as that is the date of the frame, whether because of damage or for a decorative purpose is not known.
PIERRE MIGNARD (1612-1695) was a member of a family of artists, he was a painter in the classical French Baroque manner, known primarily for his court portraits.
In 1635 Mignard left the studio of Simon Vouet for Italy, where he spent 22 years and made a reputation that brought him a summons to Paris in 1657. Successful with his portrait of Louis XIV and in favour with the court, Mignard pitted himself against Charles Le Brun; he declined to enter the French Royal Academy, of which Le Brun was the head, and he organized the opposition to its authority.
Mignard was chiefly active in portraiture; many of the beauties and celebrities of his day sat for him, including Molière, the Viscount de Turenne, Jacques Bossuet, the Marquise de Maintenon, the Marquise de Sévigné, and the Marquise de Montespan. His skilful technique and graceful arrangements are noteworthy.
With the death of Le Brun (1690), Mignard succeeded to all the posts held by his opponent. These late honours he did not long enjoy. He died while about to commence work on the cupola of the Hôtel des Invalides. His brother Nicolas Mignard (1606–68) and his nephew Paul Mignard (c. 1638–91) were also accomplished painters.
SIZE: 56.00inch framed height 44.00inch framed width (142.24 cm framed height 111.76 cm framed width)
PROVENANCE: Collection of Maria Carmela, Viscountess Hambleden of Hambleden Manor, Buckinghamshire since the 1950s.
This portrait was selected by John Fowler, of Colefax and Fowler, in the 1950s, for Hambleden Manor, home of the Viscountess Hambleden.
It hung there until July 2013 when the countess moved to a smaller property on the estate. The decoration and furnishing of Hambleden Manor is regarded as one of Fowler's earliest major achievements.
(Image 10 shows Hambleden Manor)
Inscribed verso; "Children of Louis 14th by Pierre Mignard".(?)
A superb quality large 17th century portrait of three children of the French nobility. Such is the splendour and expense of their fashionable clothing that the girls may be princesses, especially as a young gentleman kneels before them. Possibly some of Louis XIV's numerous progeny sired on his several mistresses. Louis legitimised these children and they all received titles.
On the reverse of the painting is a very faint inscription which seems to read "Children of Louis 14th by Pierre Mignard".
The painting has been reduced in size and changed from rectangle to oval, probably in the late 18th century,as that is the date of the frame, whether because of damage or for a decorative purpose is not known.
PIERRE MIGNARD (1612-1695) was a member of a family of artists, he was a painter in the classical French Baroque manner, known primarily for his court portraits.
In 1635 Mignard left the studio of Simon Vouet for Italy, where he spent 22 years and made a reputation that brought him a summons to Paris in 1657. Successful with his portrait of Louis XIV and in favour with the court, Mignard pitted himself against Charles Le Brun; he declined to enter the French Royal Academy, of which Le Brun was the head, and he organized the opposition to its authority.
Mignard was chiefly active in portraiture; many of the beauties and celebrities of his day sat for him, including Molière, the Viscount de Turenne, Jacques Bossuet, the Marquise de Maintenon, the Marquise de Sévigné, and the Marquise de Montespan. His skilful technique and graceful arrangements are noteworthy.
With the death of Le Brun (1690), Mignard succeeded to all the posts held by his opponent. These late honours he did not long enjoy. He died while about to commence work on the cupola of the Hôtel des Invalides. His brother Nicolas Mignard (1606–68) and his nephew Paul Mignard (c. 1638–91) were also accomplished painters.
SIZE: 56.00inch framed height 44.00inch framed width (142.24 cm framed height 111.76 cm framed width)
PROVENANCE: Collection of Maria Carmela, Viscountess Hambleden of Hambleden Manor, Buckinghamshire since the 1950s.
This portrait was selected by John Fowler, of Colefax and Fowler, in the 1950s, for Hambleden Manor, home of the Viscountess Hambleden.
It hung there until July 2013 when the countess moved to a smaller property on the estate. The decoration and furnishing of Hambleden Manor is regarded as one of Fowler's earliest major achievements.
(Image 10 shows Hambleden Manor)
Inscribed verso; "Children of Louis 14th by Pierre Mignard".(?)
£12,950
Portrait of a Diamond Merchant c.1620; Studio ...
Item Ref
9059
Oil on panel, the back skilfully and expensively 'cradled', in an appropriate frame.
This is a superb portrait from the Dutch Golden Age of painting; fine quality and with a very real sense of the sitter's personality and strength of character.
The sitter, a diamond merchant, looks out with confidence...almost challengingly. His right hand, holding tweezers, rests on a table upon which sits a small collection of diamonds; he also wears a gold ring with a large stone set in it.
CORNELIS VAN DER VOORT or van der Voorde (Antwerp 1576 - Amsterdam 1624) flourished as a portrait painter in Amsterdam from around 1614 to his death in 1624.
This painting is an excellent example of his portraits popular with wealthy Dutch burghers and merchants. The sitter is soberly but richly dressed in a black garment trimmed with fashionable and expensive reticella lace and a starched millstone ruff, Clothes and accessories were of enormous importance. Often immense sums were spent on them, and sitters were justifiably proud and anxious to show them off. Their clothes and accessories also carried strong social connotations.
The artist invests the portrait with great dignity. He subtly evokes the textures of the costume, underlining their costliness: the translucent material of the ruff; the intricate lace; the complex pattern of flowers and leaves on the suit.
Black was the high fashion of that era and this portrait rises to the challenge of painting black on black to depict the floral pattern of the doublet. Standing solidly in space, beautifully moulded by light, the portrait has a lively human presence.Van de Voort's work was in great demand and held in high esteem. In 1619 Van der Voort was the head of the Guild of St. Luke. He had a strong influence on the early portraits of Rembrandt, as well as the work of Nicolaes Eliasz. Pickenoy and Thomas de Keyser. His own students included David Bailly, who copied his collection of paintings, Pieter Luyx, Dirk Harmensz. and probably Pieter Codde...all artists of note.
SIZE: 56.5 x 43.75 inches including frame.
PROVENANCE:* The Weiss Gallery, London.
* For the last 25 years in the collection of an aristocratic family in Sussex.
This is a superb portrait from the Dutch Golden Age of painting; fine quality and with a very real sense of the sitter's personality and strength of character.
The sitter, a diamond merchant, looks out with confidence...almost challengingly. His right hand, holding tweezers, rests on a table upon which sits a small collection of diamonds; he also wears a gold ring with a large stone set in it.
CORNELIS VAN DER VOORT or van der Voorde (Antwerp 1576 - Amsterdam 1624) flourished as a portrait painter in Amsterdam from around 1614 to his death in 1624.
This painting is an excellent example of his portraits popular with wealthy Dutch burghers and merchants. The sitter is soberly but richly dressed in a black garment trimmed with fashionable and expensive reticella lace and a starched millstone ruff, Clothes and accessories were of enormous importance. Often immense sums were spent on them, and sitters were justifiably proud and anxious to show them off. Their clothes and accessories also carried strong social connotations.
The artist invests the portrait with great dignity. He subtly evokes the textures of the costume, underlining their costliness: the translucent material of the ruff; the intricate lace; the complex pattern of flowers and leaves on the suit.
Black was the high fashion of that era and this portrait rises to the challenge of painting black on black to depict the floral pattern of the doublet. Standing solidly in space, beautifully moulded by light, the portrait has a lively human presence.Van de Voort's work was in great demand and held in high esteem. In 1619 Van der Voort was the head of the Guild of St. Luke. He had a strong influence on the early portraits of Rembrandt, as well as the work of Nicolaes Eliasz. Pickenoy and Thomas de Keyser. His own students included David Bailly, who copied his collection of paintings, Pieter Luyx, Dirk Harmensz. and probably Pieter Codde...all artists of note.
SIZE: 56.5 x 43.75 inches including frame.
PROVENANCE:* The Weiss Gallery, London.
* For the last 25 years in the collection of an aristocratic family in Sussex.
£12,850
Portraits of the Leggat Family of Yorkshire, ...
Item Ref
9055
Three oils on canvas of the Leggat family, in carved and gilded frames. These are utterly charming images of a prosperous middle class family. It is rare for the group to have remained together for about 250 years and is nearly always the sign that the portraits have remained within the family.
Husband Peter wears a rose in his buttonhole and carries a stick which appears to be of a ceremonial type. Clearly these items are of significance, but their meaning is not known.
His wife Sarah, is dressed in a very fashionable and expensive manner. The flowers to her left are not just ornamental but signify her fruitfulness as a mother.
The children, Jane and Elizabeth, also expensively dressed, are shown with a basket of flowers and a dog. Again, these are symbols; the dog may have been a pet but it also represents trust and faithfulness, and is a reminder that, as animals need to be trained, so do children. The flowers are for their future fruitfulness in marriage. In the background can be seen a fortified manor house, probably their home but also representing their ancient family history. The walls around it seem to be of Yorkshire drystone walling.
The family have always believed that the portraits were by a Yorkshire artist, William Routh .. but no such artist is recorded. It is possible that Routh was a talented family friend and not a professional painter.
This surname LEGGAT was derived from the Old French LEGAT, and was brought into England in the wake of the Norman Invasion of 1066. The name may have been given to an official elected to represent his village at the manor court.
Early records of the name mention Geoffrey Le Legat who was documented in the County Devon in 1273 and Ricardus Leget of Yorkshire, was listed in the Yorkshire Poll Tax of 1379. Later instances of the name include a certain Richard Colfe who married Elizabeth Legget at St. Dionis Backchurch, London in 1585. Henry Legit married Catherine Eagan, St, George's. Hanover Square, London in 1770.
SIZE: framed; 34 x 28.5 inches (the adults); the children 33x 28.5 inches.
PROVENANCE: By descent through the family in Yorkshire.
Accompanying the portraits are several old family documents and a Book of Common Prayer given my Peter to his father John in 1786. It must have been well used as a note says it was rebound in 1812.
Husband Peter wears a rose in his buttonhole and carries a stick which appears to be of a ceremonial type. Clearly these items are of significance, but their meaning is not known.
His wife Sarah, is dressed in a very fashionable and expensive manner. The flowers to her left are not just ornamental but signify her fruitfulness as a mother.
The children, Jane and Elizabeth, also expensively dressed, are shown with a basket of flowers and a dog. Again, these are symbols; the dog may have been a pet but it also represents trust and faithfulness, and is a reminder that, as animals need to be trained, so do children. The flowers are for their future fruitfulness in marriage. In the background can be seen a fortified manor house, probably their home but also representing their ancient family history. The walls around it seem to be of Yorkshire drystone walling.
The family have always believed that the portraits were by a Yorkshire artist, William Routh .. but no such artist is recorded. It is possible that Routh was a talented family friend and not a professional painter.
This surname LEGGAT was derived from the Old French LEGAT, and was brought into England in the wake of the Norman Invasion of 1066. The name may have been given to an official elected to represent his village at the manor court.
Early records of the name mention Geoffrey Le Legat who was documented in the County Devon in 1273 and Ricardus Leget of Yorkshire, was listed in the Yorkshire Poll Tax of 1379. Later instances of the name include a certain Richard Colfe who married Elizabeth Legget at St. Dionis Backchurch, London in 1585. Henry Legit married Catherine Eagan, St, George's. Hanover Square, London in 1770.
SIZE: framed; 34 x 28.5 inches (the adults); the children 33x 28.5 inches.
PROVENANCE: By descent through the family in Yorkshire.
Accompanying the portraits are several old family documents and a Book of Common Prayer given my Peter to his father John in 1786. It must have been well used as a note says it was rebound in 1812.
£12,850
Portrait of Barbara Villiers, Duchess of Cleveland ...
Item Ref
9073
Oil on canvas in a modern reproduction frame.
As the most notorious and most frequently painted of King Charles II's mistresses, Barbara Villiers Duchess of Cleveland remains one of the most enduring symbols of the indulgences and excesses of the Restoration Court. This portrait derives from a work by Sir Peter Lely painted c.1662.
A portrait, identical to this one, apart from being painted within a feigned cartouche, sold at Bonhams in December 2003 for £10,157 including buyer's premium.
At the Restoration Villiers was established as the king's favourite mistress and despite his marriage to Catherine of Braganza and the jealousy of other courtiers, she maintained a powerful influence at Court. At least three of her children were acknowledged as his by the king and by 1665 she was termed the 'maitresse en titre'. Among her various liaisons was one in 1668 with the actor Charles Hart in retaliation for the king's growing attraction for actresses such as Moll Davis and Nell Gwyn.
In 1670 she was created Baroness Nonsuch, Countess of Southampton and Duchess of Cleveland. This was a reward for her services but also a compensation for retirement. By the early 1670s her influence had been entirely supplanted by Louise de Kéroualle, Duchess of Portsmouth. After this she spent some time in Paris before returning to England a few months before Charles II's death in 1685. On the death of her husband Roger, Earl of Castlemaine in 1705 she married Major-General Robert Fielding, a bigamist who was jailed for threatening and maltreating his wife. She died at Chiswick on 9th October 1709. Among her various illegitimate children by the King were the Duke of Grafton, the Duke of Southampton and Lady Charlotte Fitzroy, Countess of Lichfield.
Portraits of Villiers, and other of the king's mistresses, were much in demand and many copies were produced to satisfy this market. They were not cheap; Samuel Pepys could not afford one and had to settle for a print.
SIR PETER LELY (1618 - 1680) was the most important portraitist in the reign of Charles II, although he had painted portraits throughout the Commonwealth. Principal Painter to the King, he painted everyone of importance, maintaining a busy and active Studio to help with the huge demand for his portraits. Members of his Circle, and his Followers, many of them talented artists in their own right, emulated his style to supply this constant market.
SIZE: 35.25 x 30.75 x 2 inches including the frame.
PROVENANCE:
*Derbyshire Private Collection. (Verso; a trade label for a now defunct Ticknall restoration studio).
*Sussex Private Collection.
As the most notorious and most frequently painted of King Charles II's mistresses, Barbara Villiers Duchess of Cleveland remains one of the most enduring symbols of the indulgences and excesses of the Restoration Court. This portrait derives from a work by Sir Peter Lely painted c.1662.
A portrait, identical to this one, apart from being painted within a feigned cartouche, sold at Bonhams in December 2003 for £10,157 including buyer's premium.
At the Restoration Villiers was established as the king's favourite mistress and despite his marriage to Catherine of Braganza and the jealousy of other courtiers, she maintained a powerful influence at Court. At least three of her children were acknowledged as his by the king and by 1665 she was termed the 'maitresse en titre'. Among her various liaisons was one in 1668 with the actor Charles Hart in retaliation for the king's growing attraction for actresses such as Moll Davis and Nell Gwyn.
In 1670 she was created Baroness Nonsuch, Countess of Southampton and Duchess of Cleveland. This was a reward for her services but also a compensation for retirement. By the early 1670s her influence had been entirely supplanted by Louise de Kéroualle, Duchess of Portsmouth. After this she spent some time in Paris before returning to England a few months before Charles II's death in 1685. On the death of her husband Roger, Earl of Castlemaine in 1705 she married Major-General Robert Fielding, a bigamist who was jailed for threatening and maltreating his wife. She died at Chiswick on 9th October 1709. Among her various illegitimate children by the King were the Duke of Grafton, the Duke of Southampton and Lady Charlotte Fitzroy, Countess of Lichfield.
Portraits of Villiers, and other of the king's mistresses, were much in demand and many copies were produced to satisfy this market. They were not cheap; Samuel Pepys could not afford one and had to settle for a print.
SIR PETER LELY (1618 - 1680) was the most important portraitist in the reign of Charles II, although he had painted portraits throughout the Commonwealth. Principal Painter to the King, he painted everyone of importance, maintaining a busy and active Studio to help with the huge demand for his portraits. Members of his Circle, and his Followers, many of them talented artists in their own right, emulated his style to supply this constant market.
SIZE: 35.25 x 30.75 x 2 inches including the frame.
PROVENANCE:
*Derbyshire Private Collection. (Verso; a trade label for a now defunct Ticknall restoration studio).
*Sussex Private Collection.
£11,950
Portrait of Capt. the Hon. Henry Dundas ...
Item Ref
9022
Oil on canvas in the original Regency gilt frame.
This is a superb portrait of the young aristocratic officer; sensitive and insightful, his hair in the fashionably Byronic style. It is a fine example of the best work of Devis. He wears the dress uniform of the Light Dragoons.
CAPTAIN THE HONOURABLE HENRY DUNDAS SHORE (1800 - 1826) was the third son of the 1st Lord Teignmouth, Governor General of India and anti slavery campaigner.
The sitter served with the 11th Regiment of Light Dragoons as Cornet in 1818, then in the 4th Royal Irish Regiment of Dragoon Guards (being promoted to Lieutenant in November 1822) before becoming Captain in the Royal Marines in 1826.
Shore died in Loumarin, France, in April 1826. He was 26 and unmarried.
His funeral was a grand affair: "The pall was borne by officers of the French army. As the procession passed through the streets, which were densely crowded - as a holiday had been granted to the people of the neighbourhood - its progress was indicated by volleys from the carbines of the gendarmerie and the same martial tribute was bestowed at the grave." (from 'Memoir of the Life and Correspondence of John, Lord Shore', vol.2).
ARTHUR WILLIAM DEVIS (1762 - 1822). Devis was the son of Arthur Devis, a successful portrait painter. Devis enrolled at the Royal Academy Schools at the age of twelve and exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1775. In 1782, he embarked aboard the Antelope for a voyage to the East Indies, in the capacity of draughtsman. The ship was wrecked and Devis and the crew were stranded for a year on an uninhabited island in the Pacific Ocean. After a series of extraordinary adventures, during which he took part in the wars of the natives on a neighbouring island and received two arrow wounds, Devis arrived in India, where he settled for ten years, establishing a successful practice as a painter of portraits and local scenes. He attracted the attention of Sir William Jones, Lord Cornwallis and General Harris. He returned to England in 1795, concentrating mainly on painting portraits and a few notable history subjects. Perhaps his best known painting is the famous "Death of Nelson".
SIZE: 39 x 34.25 inches inc. frame.
PROVENANCE: By descent in the family of the sitter.
Verso: an old depository label for Lord Teignmouth, and an illegible inscription.
This is a superb portrait of the young aristocratic officer; sensitive and insightful, his hair in the fashionably Byronic style. It is a fine example of the best work of Devis. He wears the dress uniform of the Light Dragoons.
CAPTAIN THE HONOURABLE HENRY DUNDAS SHORE (1800 - 1826) was the third son of the 1st Lord Teignmouth, Governor General of India and anti slavery campaigner.
The sitter served with the 11th Regiment of Light Dragoons as Cornet in 1818, then in the 4th Royal Irish Regiment of Dragoon Guards (being promoted to Lieutenant in November 1822) before becoming Captain in the Royal Marines in 1826.
Shore died in Loumarin, France, in April 1826. He was 26 and unmarried.
His funeral was a grand affair: "The pall was borne by officers of the French army. As the procession passed through the streets, which were densely crowded - as a holiday had been granted to the people of the neighbourhood - its progress was indicated by volleys from the carbines of the gendarmerie and the same martial tribute was bestowed at the grave." (from 'Memoir of the Life and Correspondence of John, Lord Shore', vol.2).
ARTHUR WILLIAM DEVIS (1762 - 1822). Devis was the son of Arthur Devis, a successful portrait painter. Devis enrolled at the Royal Academy Schools at the age of twelve and exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1775. In 1782, he embarked aboard the Antelope for a voyage to the East Indies, in the capacity of draughtsman. The ship was wrecked and Devis and the crew were stranded for a year on an uninhabited island in the Pacific Ocean. After a series of extraordinary adventures, during which he took part in the wars of the natives on a neighbouring island and received two arrow wounds, Devis arrived in India, where he settled for ten years, establishing a successful practice as a painter of portraits and local scenes. He attracted the attention of Sir William Jones, Lord Cornwallis and General Harris. He returned to England in 1795, concentrating mainly on painting portraits and a few notable history subjects. Perhaps his best known painting is the famous "Death of Nelson".
SIZE: 39 x 34.25 inches inc. frame.
PROVENANCE: By descent in the family of the sitter.
Verso: an old depository label for Lord Teignmouth, and an illegible inscription.
£11,750
Portrait of The Hon. Frederick John Shore, ...
Item Ref
9021
Oil on canvas in the original Regency gilt frame.
This is a superb portrait of the young nobleman, sensitive and insightful, his hair in the fashionably Byronic style. It is a fine example of the best work of Devis.
THE HONOURABLE FREDERICK JOHN SHORE, (1799-1827), 2nd son of the 1st Lord Teignmouth, Governor General of India and anti slavery campaigner.
The sitter was born in England in May 1799 and married Charlotte Mary Cornish (1800-1883), the daughter of his mother's younger brother, in January 1830. He was the author of "Indian Affairs", a noted political treatise, whilst an employee of the East India Company.
At this time the East India Company ruled large areas of India with its own private armies, exercising military power and assuming administrative functions.
Company rule in India effectively began in 1757 and lasted until 1858 when, following the Indian Rebellion of 1857, the Government of India Act 1858 led to the British Crown assuming direct control of India in the form of the new British Raj.
An old handwritten label verso informs us that Frederick was killed "at the storming of a Robber Fort in India" two days before his 38th birthday.
His wife bore him three children, Louisa Sara, Arthur Frederick and Clara Maria.
ARTHUR WILLIAM DEVIS (1762 - 1822). Devis was the son of Arthur Devis, a successful portrait painter. Devis enrolled at the Royal Academy Schools at the age of twelve and exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1775. In 1782, he embarked aboard the Antelope for a voyage to the East Indies, in the capacity of draughtsman. The ship was wrecked and Devis and the crew were stranded for a year on an uninhabited island in the Pacific Ocean. After a series of extraordinary adventures, during which he took part in the wars of the natives on a neighbouring island and received two arrow wounds, Devis arrived in India, where he settled for ten years, establishing a successful practice as a painter of portraits and local scenes. He attracted the attention of Sir William Jones, Lord Cornwallis and General Harris. He returned to England in 1795, concentrating mainly on painting portraits and a few notable history subjects. Perhaps his best known painting is the famous "Death of Nelson".
SIZE: 39 x 34.25 inches inc. frame.
PROVENANCE: By descent in the family of the sitter.
Images 6 and 7 are from Paviere's "The Devis Family of Painters" (With thanks to Nick Cox of Period Portraits)
VERSO: two old handwritten labels, one described above, the other inscribed 'Property of Hugh Shore'. A modern label inscribed 'Lady Teignmouth'.
This is a superb portrait of the young nobleman, sensitive and insightful, his hair in the fashionably Byronic style. It is a fine example of the best work of Devis.
THE HONOURABLE FREDERICK JOHN SHORE, (1799-1827), 2nd son of the 1st Lord Teignmouth, Governor General of India and anti slavery campaigner.
The sitter was born in England in May 1799 and married Charlotte Mary Cornish (1800-1883), the daughter of his mother's younger brother, in January 1830. He was the author of "Indian Affairs", a noted political treatise, whilst an employee of the East India Company.
At this time the East India Company ruled large areas of India with its own private armies, exercising military power and assuming administrative functions.
Company rule in India effectively began in 1757 and lasted until 1858 when, following the Indian Rebellion of 1857, the Government of India Act 1858 led to the British Crown assuming direct control of India in the form of the new British Raj.
An old handwritten label verso informs us that Frederick was killed "at the storming of a Robber Fort in India" two days before his 38th birthday.
His wife bore him three children, Louisa Sara, Arthur Frederick and Clara Maria.
ARTHUR WILLIAM DEVIS (1762 - 1822). Devis was the son of Arthur Devis, a successful portrait painter. Devis enrolled at the Royal Academy Schools at the age of twelve and exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1775. In 1782, he embarked aboard the Antelope for a voyage to the East Indies, in the capacity of draughtsman. The ship was wrecked and Devis and the crew were stranded for a year on an uninhabited island in the Pacific Ocean. After a series of extraordinary adventures, during which he took part in the wars of the natives on a neighbouring island and received two arrow wounds, Devis arrived in India, where he settled for ten years, establishing a successful practice as a painter of portraits and local scenes. He attracted the attention of Sir William Jones, Lord Cornwallis and General Harris. He returned to England in 1795, concentrating mainly on painting portraits and a few notable history subjects. Perhaps his best known painting is the famous "Death of Nelson".
SIZE: 39 x 34.25 inches inc. frame.
PROVENANCE: By descent in the family of the sitter.
Images 6 and 7 are from Paviere's "The Devis Family of Painters" (With thanks to Nick Cox of Period Portraits)
VERSO: two old handwritten labels, one described above, the other inscribed 'Property of Hugh Shore'. A modern label inscribed 'Lady Teignmouth'.
£11,750
Pair of Portraits of Sir Neville and ...
Item Ref
9078
A pair of oils on canvas in good carved and giltwood frames. These were probably the marriage portraits of Sir Neville and his first wife Dorothea.
Sir Nevill(e) Catlin, sometimes written Catlyn or Catelyn or Catline, was an English landowner and politician from a Norfolk family long active in local and national affairs. Baptised on 3 March 1634, he was the eldest surviving son of landowner and politician Richard Catlin (1583 – 1662) of Kirby Cane and his second wife Dorothy (1605 – 1672), daughter of landowner and politician Sir Henry Nevill of Billingbear and his wife Anne, daughter of Henry Killigrew. His father, who supported the King in the English Civil War, had been disabled from sitting in Parliament in 1644 and suffered sequestration of his estate, but was discharged without fine in 1647. His older half-brother Thomas Catlin died fighting for the Royalist side in the Second Battle of Newbury in 1644 . In 1650, he entered King's College, Cambridge.
In 1658 in London he married his first wife Dorothea, daughter of the judge and politician Sir Thomas Bedingfield and his wife Elizabeth. After her early death he married Elizabeth, daughter of Robert Houghton of Ranworth and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Sir John Corbet, 1st Baronet, of Sprowston, but she died in 1681. His third marriage was to Mary, sister of Sir Charles Blois, 1st Baronet and daughter of Sir William Blois of Grundisburgh and his first wife Martha. In the first two marriages there were three sons and a daughter, but none lived long.
At the Restoration in 1660 he joined the Norfolk militia, initially as a captain of cavalry and rising later to major. In 1661 he was appointed a commissioner for tax assessment for both Norfolk and Suffolk and in 1662 when he inherited the estates of Kirby Cane and Wingfield Castle on the death of his father, he was knighted. In 1668 he was appointed Justice of the Peace for Norfolk and in 1680 for Suffolk as well, adding the rank of Deputy Lieutenant for Norfolk in 1676 and Suffolk in 1680.
In the 1685 general election he was unopposed as one of the two members for the city of Norwich and was listed among the opposition to the supporters of the Catholic King, James II. Unsympathetic to the political ambitions of the Catholic party, he opposed the repeal of the penal laws against Catholics and dissenters but was not against some relaxation. As an opponent of the King's absolute rule, he was stripped of his local offices, and when these were restored in October 1688 he refused to sit next to Catholic office holders. In the Convention Parliament of 1689 he was fairly active, being appointed to 15 committees.
He did not stand in the 1690 general election, retiring from national politics. Dying in July 1702, at Wingfield Castle, he was buried at Kirby Cane and succeeded by his younger brother Richard Catlin V.
JOHN HAYLS (1600-1679) also Hailes, was an English Baroque-era portrait painter, principally known for his portrait of Samuel Pepys. Hayls was a contemporary and rival of Sir Peter Lely and Samuel Cooper.
Pepys was so pleased with his wife's portrait, that he commissioned a portrait of himself and also persuaded his father Thomas Pepys to sit for the artist. Pepys also mentioned that Hayls painted the actor Joseph Harris as Henry V.
Hayls also painted portraits of Colonel John Russell (third son of Francis Russell, 4th Earl of Bedford), Lady Diana Russell, and the poet Thomas Flatman. He was known as a good copyist of the works of Van Dyck. He lived in Southampton Street, Bloomsbury, London, for some years, but then moved to a house in Long Acre, where he died suddenly in 1679.
SIZE: 35.5 x 30.5 inches inc. frame.
PROVENANCE: Wingfield Castle, Sussex, then by descent to the Lords Berners of Ashwellthorpe Hall, thence to Faringdon House. (see last image).
Sir Nevill(e) Catlin, sometimes written Catlyn or Catelyn or Catline, was an English landowner and politician from a Norfolk family long active in local and national affairs. Baptised on 3 March 1634, he was the eldest surviving son of landowner and politician Richard Catlin (1583 – 1662) of Kirby Cane and his second wife Dorothy (1605 – 1672), daughter of landowner and politician Sir Henry Nevill of Billingbear and his wife Anne, daughter of Henry Killigrew. His father, who supported the King in the English Civil War, had been disabled from sitting in Parliament in 1644 and suffered sequestration of his estate, but was discharged without fine in 1647. His older half-brother Thomas Catlin died fighting for the Royalist side in the Second Battle of Newbury in 1644 . In 1650, he entered King's College, Cambridge.
In 1658 in London he married his first wife Dorothea, daughter of the judge and politician Sir Thomas Bedingfield and his wife Elizabeth. After her early death he married Elizabeth, daughter of Robert Houghton of Ranworth and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Sir John Corbet, 1st Baronet, of Sprowston, but she died in 1681. His third marriage was to Mary, sister of Sir Charles Blois, 1st Baronet and daughter of Sir William Blois of Grundisburgh and his first wife Martha. In the first two marriages there were three sons and a daughter, but none lived long.
At the Restoration in 1660 he joined the Norfolk militia, initially as a captain of cavalry and rising later to major. In 1661 he was appointed a commissioner for tax assessment for both Norfolk and Suffolk and in 1662 when he inherited the estates of Kirby Cane and Wingfield Castle on the death of his father, he was knighted. In 1668 he was appointed Justice of the Peace for Norfolk and in 1680 for Suffolk as well, adding the rank of Deputy Lieutenant for Norfolk in 1676 and Suffolk in 1680.
In the 1685 general election he was unopposed as one of the two members for the city of Norwich and was listed among the opposition to the supporters of the Catholic King, James II. Unsympathetic to the political ambitions of the Catholic party, he opposed the repeal of the penal laws against Catholics and dissenters but was not against some relaxation. As an opponent of the King's absolute rule, he was stripped of his local offices, and when these were restored in October 1688 he refused to sit next to Catholic office holders. In the Convention Parliament of 1689 he was fairly active, being appointed to 15 committees.
He did not stand in the 1690 general election, retiring from national politics. Dying in July 1702, at Wingfield Castle, he was buried at Kirby Cane and succeeded by his younger brother Richard Catlin V.
JOHN HAYLS (1600-1679) also Hailes, was an English Baroque-era portrait painter, principally known for his portrait of Samuel Pepys. Hayls was a contemporary and rival of Sir Peter Lely and Samuel Cooper.
Pepys was so pleased with his wife's portrait, that he commissioned a portrait of himself and also persuaded his father Thomas Pepys to sit for the artist. Pepys also mentioned that Hayls painted the actor Joseph Harris as Henry V.
Hayls also painted portraits of Colonel John Russell (third son of Francis Russell, 4th Earl of Bedford), Lady Diana Russell, and the poet Thomas Flatman. He was known as a good copyist of the works of Van Dyck. He lived in Southampton Street, Bloomsbury, London, for some years, but then moved to a house in Long Acre, where he died suddenly in 1679.
SIZE: 35.5 x 30.5 inches inc. frame.
PROVENANCE: Wingfield Castle, Sussex, then by descent to the Lords Berners of Ashwellthorpe Hall, thence to Faringdon House. (see last image).
£11,650
Portrait of a Girl Feeding a Deer ...
Item Ref
9052
Oil on canvas in a period carved giltwood frame.
This is a charming portrait of a girl of a wealthy family depicted feeding a deer; the animal may have been a pet but is more likely to be symbololic.
In the Christian world, the deer is a symbol of piety, devotion and of God taking care of his children; in mythology the female deer symbolizes beauty, femininity, gentleness and grace.
The blossoming rose to the left of the girl is a symbol of her youth, beauty and future fruitfulness.
The sitter wears fashionable clothes trimmed with very expensive lace.
THOMAS GIBSON c1680-1751.
He was a leading portrait painter by 1711, painting much in the style of Sir Godfrey Kneller (Principal Painter to the Royal Court), when he was appointed a founding director of Godfrey Kneller's Academy in London; among his pupils there was George Vertue. Gibson's sitters included a number of important public figures: Dr Henry Sacheverell (1710; Oxford, Magdalen Coll.), John Flamsteed (1712; Oxford, Bodleian Lib.), Sir Robert Walpole (untraced; engr. G. Bockman), Archbishop William Wake (Oxford, Christ Church Picture Gallery) and Archbishop John Potter (London, Lambeth Palace). His most constant patron was John Poulett, 1st Earl Poulett (1663–1743), who commissioned a great number of originals and copies.
Gibson's career was interrupted in 1729-31 by serious illness, and he was obliged to sell his collection and for a time retire to Oxford. After resuming his practice he was patronized by Augusta, Princess of Wales, who in 1742 commissioned a group portrait of her four children, as well as her own portrait (both British Royal Collection).
SIZE: 59 x 45 inches framed.
PROVENANCE: The Collection of the late Anne, Lady Winnington of Brockhill Court, Worcestershire, and London.
This is a charming portrait of a girl of a wealthy family depicted feeding a deer; the animal may have been a pet but is more likely to be symbololic.
In the Christian world, the deer is a symbol of piety, devotion and of God taking care of his children; in mythology the female deer symbolizes beauty, femininity, gentleness and grace.
The blossoming rose to the left of the girl is a symbol of her youth, beauty and future fruitfulness.
The sitter wears fashionable clothes trimmed with very expensive lace.
THOMAS GIBSON c1680-1751.
He was a leading portrait painter by 1711, painting much in the style of Sir Godfrey Kneller (Principal Painter to the Royal Court), when he was appointed a founding director of Godfrey Kneller's Academy in London; among his pupils there was George Vertue. Gibson's sitters included a number of important public figures: Dr Henry Sacheverell (1710; Oxford, Magdalen Coll.), John Flamsteed (1712; Oxford, Bodleian Lib.), Sir Robert Walpole (untraced; engr. G. Bockman), Archbishop William Wake (Oxford, Christ Church Picture Gallery) and Archbishop John Potter (London, Lambeth Palace). His most constant patron was John Poulett, 1st Earl Poulett (1663–1743), who commissioned a great number of originals and copies.
Gibson's career was interrupted in 1729-31 by serious illness, and he was obliged to sell his collection and for a time retire to Oxford. After resuming his practice he was patronized by Augusta, Princess of Wales, who in 1742 commissioned a group portrait of her four children, as well as her own portrait (both British Royal Collection).
SIZE: 59 x 45 inches framed.
PROVENANCE: The Collection of the late Anne, Lady Winnington of Brockhill Court, Worcestershire, and London.
£11,500
Portrait of James Cecil, 5th Earl of ...
Item Ref
9024
Oil on canvas in a 17th century carved and giltwood frame.
This is a fine quality three quarter length studio version of the full length painted by Sir Godfrey Kneller in 1695, in the collection of the Marquess of Salisbury at Hatfield House.
The young aristocrat wears faux Roman clothing for his portrait, this was a fashionable conceit of the time, and was known as 'elevating the sitter', it was thought to give the portrait a Classical, timeless look.
JAMES CECIL, 5th Earl of Salisbury was born on 8 June 169, he was the son of James Cecil, 4th Earl of Salisbury and Frances Bennett.
He married Lady Anne Tufton, daughter of Thomas Tufton, 6th Earl of Thanet and Lady Catherine Cavendish, on 12 February 1708/9.
Succeeded to the title of 5th Earl of Salisbury [E., 1605] on 24 October 1694. Previously he had held the titles of 5th Baron Cecil of Essendon, Rutland and of 5th Viscount Cranborne, co. Dorset.
He graduated from Christ Church, Oxford University, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, in 1707 with a Master of Arts degree. He held the office of Lord-Lieutenant of Hertfordshire between 1712 and 1714. Died on 9 October 1728 at age 37.
Children of James Cecil, 5th Earl of Salisbury and Lady Anne Tufton:-
Lady Anne Cecil d. 3 Jul 1752
James Cecil, 6th Earl of Salisbury b. 20 Oct 1713, d. 19 Sep 1780
Lady Catherine Cecil b. 15 Aug 1719, d. 16 Aug 1752.
SIR GODFREY KNELLER (1646-1723) studied under Ferdinand Bol, and perhaps Rembrandt himself in the 1660s. He was in Rome and Venice between 1672 and 1675, settling in England in 1676 for life. He was soon employed at Court and became the most successful portraitist of the generation following Lely. He enjoyed the office of Principal Painter, at first jointly with John Riley (d.1691), from shortly after the accession of William and Mary in 1688 until his death. He was knighted in 1692 and became a baronet in 1715.
His work fully expresses the spirit of the English Baroque, and includes penetrating studies of many of the leading figures of Whig Society such as the famous Kit-Kat portraits now in the National Portrait Gallery (Beningborough Hall, Yorkshire), which include the likenesses of Sir John Vanbrugh, Charles 3rd Earl of Carlisle, and others.
SIZE: 38 x 33 inches inc. frame.
PROVENANCE: Private Collection, Northwest Yorkshire.
VERSO: an old label wrongly identifying the sitter as Lord Cecil Burghley.
Our thanks to the art historian Adam Busiakiewicz.
This is a fine quality three quarter length studio version of the full length painted by Sir Godfrey Kneller in 1695, in the collection of the Marquess of Salisbury at Hatfield House.
The young aristocrat wears faux Roman clothing for his portrait, this was a fashionable conceit of the time, and was known as 'elevating the sitter', it was thought to give the portrait a Classical, timeless look.
JAMES CECIL, 5th Earl of Salisbury was born on 8 June 169, he was the son of James Cecil, 4th Earl of Salisbury and Frances Bennett.
He married Lady Anne Tufton, daughter of Thomas Tufton, 6th Earl of Thanet and Lady Catherine Cavendish, on 12 February 1708/9.
Succeeded to the title of 5th Earl of Salisbury [E., 1605] on 24 October 1694. Previously he had held the titles of 5th Baron Cecil of Essendon, Rutland and of 5th Viscount Cranborne, co. Dorset.
He graduated from Christ Church, Oxford University, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, in 1707 with a Master of Arts degree. He held the office of Lord-Lieutenant of Hertfordshire between 1712 and 1714. Died on 9 October 1728 at age 37.
Children of James Cecil, 5th Earl of Salisbury and Lady Anne Tufton:-
Lady Anne Cecil d. 3 Jul 1752
James Cecil, 6th Earl of Salisbury b. 20 Oct 1713, d. 19 Sep 1780
Lady Catherine Cecil b. 15 Aug 1719, d. 16 Aug 1752.
SIR GODFREY KNELLER (1646-1723) studied under Ferdinand Bol, and perhaps Rembrandt himself in the 1660s. He was in Rome and Venice between 1672 and 1675, settling in England in 1676 for life. He was soon employed at Court and became the most successful portraitist of the generation following Lely. He enjoyed the office of Principal Painter, at first jointly with John Riley (d.1691), from shortly after the accession of William and Mary in 1688 until his death. He was knighted in 1692 and became a baronet in 1715.
His work fully expresses the spirit of the English Baroque, and includes penetrating studies of many of the leading figures of Whig Society such as the famous Kit-Kat portraits now in the National Portrait Gallery (Beningborough Hall, Yorkshire), which include the likenesses of Sir John Vanbrugh, Charles 3rd Earl of Carlisle, and others.
SIZE: 38 x 33 inches inc. frame.
PROVENANCE: Private Collection, Northwest Yorkshire.
VERSO: an old label wrongly identifying the sitter as Lord Cecil Burghley.
Our thanks to the art historian Adam Busiakiewicz.
£11,500
Double portrait of Colonel and Mrs. Adams ...
Item Ref
8854
Oil on canvas in reproduction 18th c. style gilt frame.
Inscribed, upper right, 'Col.n Sam & Rose Adams'.
A pleasing double portrait of Colonel Samuel Adams and his wife Rose, to whom he offers his snuff box for her to take a pinch. This is most unusual in portraiture.
(Snuff is a product made from ground or pulverised tobacco leaves. It originated in the Americas and was in common use in Europe by the 17th century.
It was generally inhaled or "snuffed" through the nose, usually directly from the fingers.
By the 18th century, snuff had become the tobacco product of choice among the upper classes, both male and female. The taking of snuff helped to distinguish the elite members of society from the common populace, which generally smoked its tobacco.)
PHILIPPE MERCIER (also known as Philip Mercier; 1689 in Berlin – 18 July 1760 in London) was a French painter and etcher, who lived principally and was active in England. He was born in Berlin of French extraction, the son of a Huguenot tapestry-worker. He studied painting at the Akademie der Wissenschaften of Berlin and later under Antoine Pesne, who had arrived in Berlin in 1710. Later, he travelled in Italy and France before arriving in London—"recommended by the Court at Hannover"—probably in 1716. He married in London in 1719 and lived in Leicester Fields.
He was appointed Principal Painter and librarian to the Prince and Princess of Wales at their independent establishment in Leicester Fields, and while he was in favour he painted various portraits of the royals, and no doubt many of the nobility and gentry. Of the royal portraits, those of the Prince of Wales and of his three sisters, painted in 1728, were all engraved in mezzotint by Jean Pierre Simon, and that of the three elder children of the Prince of Wales by John Faber Junior in 1744.
Mercier became involved in a scandal of sorts and he lost favour. He left London around 1740 and settled in York, where he practiced portrait painting for over ten years, before returning to London in 1751. In 1752, Mercier went to Portugal at the request of several English merchants. He did not long remain there, however, but came back to London, where he died in 1760.
SIZE: 45 x 51.5 inches inc. frame.
PROVENANCE:
*Edward Abadam, Middleton Hall, Carmarthenshire, thence by descent.
*Sold Christie's 1980.
*American Private Collection.
*With Roy Precious Fine Art.
* Collection of a Fellow of a Cambridge College.
Verso: old inventory number; old Christie's stencil; old handwritten label "Colonel Samuel & Mrs. Adams. P. Mercier. To Christie's York from Vaughn, 102 Westbourne Ave. Hull"
Inscribed, upper right, 'Col.n Sam & Rose Adams'.
A pleasing double portrait of Colonel Samuel Adams and his wife Rose, to whom he offers his snuff box for her to take a pinch. This is most unusual in portraiture.
(Snuff is a product made from ground or pulverised tobacco leaves. It originated in the Americas and was in common use in Europe by the 17th century.
It was generally inhaled or "snuffed" through the nose, usually directly from the fingers.
By the 18th century, snuff had become the tobacco product of choice among the upper classes, both male and female. The taking of snuff helped to distinguish the elite members of society from the common populace, which generally smoked its tobacco.)
PHILIPPE MERCIER (also known as Philip Mercier; 1689 in Berlin – 18 July 1760 in London) was a French painter and etcher, who lived principally and was active in England. He was born in Berlin of French extraction, the son of a Huguenot tapestry-worker. He studied painting at the Akademie der Wissenschaften of Berlin and later under Antoine Pesne, who had arrived in Berlin in 1710. Later, he travelled in Italy and France before arriving in London—"recommended by the Court at Hannover"—probably in 1716. He married in London in 1719 and lived in Leicester Fields.
He was appointed Principal Painter and librarian to the Prince and Princess of Wales at their independent establishment in Leicester Fields, and while he was in favour he painted various portraits of the royals, and no doubt many of the nobility and gentry. Of the royal portraits, those of the Prince of Wales and of his three sisters, painted in 1728, were all engraved in mezzotint by Jean Pierre Simon, and that of the three elder children of the Prince of Wales by John Faber Junior in 1744.
Mercier became involved in a scandal of sorts and he lost favour. He left London around 1740 and settled in York, where he practiced portrait painting for over ten years, before returning to London in 1751. In 1752, Mercier went to Portugal at the request of several English merchants. He did not long remain there, however, but came back to London, where he died in 1760.
SIZE: 45 x 51.5 inches inc. frame.
PROVENANCE:
*Edward Abadam, Middleton Hall, Carmarthenshire, thence by descent.
*Sold Christie's 1980.
*American Private Collection.
*With Roy Precious Fine Art.
* Collection of a Fellow of a Cambridge College.
Verso: old inventory number; old Christie's stencil; old handwritten label "Colonel Samuel & Mrs. Adams. P. Mercier. To Christie's York from Vaughn, 102 Westbourne Ave. Hull"
£10,985
Portrait of a Lady c.1665; Attributed to ...
Item Ref
9061
Oil on canvas in a magnificent 19th century frame.
The frame bears a gilt label attributing the portrait to Sir Peter Lely; in the 19th century many portraits were miss-attributed to Lely and Kneller. Fine artists like Huysmans, Dahl, Richardson etc were forgotten until later scholarship and research 'rediscovered' them.
The sitter, more than likely a lady of Queen Catherine's court, is depicted in the mythical realm of Arcady, a fashionable conceit of the time. Arcady, or Arcadia, was a mythological land, home of the god Pan, where love and peace reigned.
At the centre of Arcady is the Garden of Love where a figure of Cupid sits atop a fountain.
The lady's dog, a King Charles spaniel very fashionable at the time, laps at the water.
The fountain makes an allusion to her potential as a wife and mother, recalling Proverbs, chapter 5, verse 18 "Let thy fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of thy youth".
The spaniel, as well as being a fashionable accessory, also represents faith and trust.
There is little doubt that this portrait represents a celebration of the young lady's forthcoming marriage.
JACOB HUYSMANS (c.1633–1696) was a Flemish portrait painter. He moved to England during the reign of Charles II where he became one of the fashionable painters of the court. His chief portraits are those of Izaak Walton and Catherine of Braganza, Charles II's wife (both displayed in the National Portrait Gallery, London)
He was born into a family of artists in Antwerp. He was the uncle of Jan-Baptiste and Cornelis Huysmans. He learned to paint from Gilles Backereel and Frans Wouters and moved to England, where he later influenced David des Granges (1611–1675). His first works were pastiches of work from Anthony van Dyck. As a Roman Catholic he was favoured by Catharine of Braganza. When Samuel Pepys visited his workshop in Westminster on 26 August 1664, he described him as a 'picture-drawer ... which is said to exceed Lilly" (Lely). Huysmans's most important portrait of Catharine of Braganza, Queen Catharine as a Shepherdess (c. 1664; Brit. Royal Col.), was one of the pictures Pepys saw on that occasion. Painting his female subjects as shepherdesses with clothing embellished with embroidery and jewellery were typical of his style.
Huysmans’s exuberant style was particularly favoured by Charles II’s Portuguese wife, Queen Catherine. He often depicted female subjects in the guise of religious or classical figures and laid particular emphasis on the interplay of light, colour and contrasting textures; crumpled satin against porcelain skin, or glossy ringlets interwoven with pearls.
Huysmans’s handling of paint and application of colour, often manipulated to prettify his female subjects, is redolent of the Italianate, Van-Dyckian style. His hand can often be identified from his high-keyed colours, reddish lights prevailing in the flesh tones, and smooth, glossy finish. Furthermore, his work displays a similar poise and grandeur - evident in the art of Italian Guido Reni and the seventeenth-century Bolognese school - which so appealed to the Catholic taste of Queen Catherine. Huysmans especially relished painting the rich colours and textures of sumptuous courtly attire, favoured by the most fashionable at court.
Huysmans died in Jermyn Street, London, in 1696, and was buried in St. James's Church in Piccadilly.
SIZE: 63.75 x 53.5 x 5.25 inches framed.
PROVENANCE: Latterly in the collection of an aristocratic family.
Verso: A 19th century label 'G.E. CLIFFORD, Picture Restorer. Successor to Mr. E. Facon Watson' and a later, but old, label 'John King, dealer in Works of Art, 83 Renhaw Street, Liverpool.'
The frame bears a gilt label attributing the portrait to Sir Peter Lely; in the 19th century many portraits were miss-attributed to Lely and Kneller. Fine artists like Huysmans, Dahl, Richardson etc were forgotten until later scholarship and research 'rediscovered' them.
The sitter, more than likely a lady of Queen Catherine's court, is depicted in the mythical realm of Arcady, a fashionable conceit of the time. Arcady, or Arcadia, was a mythological land, home of the god Pan, where love and peace reigned.
At the centre of Arcady is the Garden of Love where a figure of Cupid sits atop a fountain.
The lady's dog, a King Charles spaniel very fashionable at the time, laps at the water.
The fountain makes an allusion to her potential as a wife and mother, recalling Proverbs, chapter 5, verse 18 "Let thy fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of thy youth".
The spaniel, as well as being a fashionable accessory, also represents faith and trust.
There is little doubt that this portrait represents a celebration of the young lady's forthcoming marriage.
JACOB HUYSMANS (c.1633–1696) was a Flemish portrait painter. He moved to England during the reign of Charles II where he became one of the fashionable painters of the court. His chief portraits are those of Izaak Walton and Catherine of Braganza, Charles II's wife (both displayed in the National Portrait Gallery, London)
He was born into a family of artists in Antwerp. He was the uncle of Jan-Baptiste and Cornelis Huysmans. He learned to paint from Gilles Backereel and Frans Wouters and moved to England, where he later influenced David des Granges (1611–1675). His first works were pastiches of work from Anthony van Dyck. As a Roman Catholic he was favoured by Catharine of Braganza. When Samuel Pepys visited his workshop in Westminster on 26 August 1664, he described him as a 'picture-drawer ... which is said to exceed Lilly" (Lely). Huysmans's most important portrait of Catharine of Braganza, Queen Catharine as a Shepherdess (c. 1664; Brit. Royal Col.), was one of the pictures Pepys saw on that occasion. Painting his female subjects as shepherdesses with clothing embellished with embroidery and jewellery were typical of his style.
Huysmans’s exuberant style was particularly favoured by Charles II’s Portuguese wife, Queen Catherine. He often depicted female subjects in the guise of religious or classical figures and laid particular emphasis on the interplay of light, colour and contrasting textures; crumpled satin against porcelain skin, or glossy ringlets interwoven with pearls.
Huysmans’s handling of paint and application of colour, often manipulated to prettify his female subjects, is redolent of the Italianate, Van-Dyckian style. His hand can often be identified from his high-keyed colours, reddish lights prevailing in the flesh tones, and smooth, glossy finish. Furthermore, his work displays a similar poise and grandeur - evident in the art of Italian Guido Reni and the seventeenth-century Bolognese school - which so appealed to the Catholic taste of Queen Catherine. Huysmans especially relished painting the rich colours and textures of sumptuous courtly attire, favoured by the most fashionable at court.
Huysmans died in Jermyn Street, London, in 1696, and was buried in St. James's Church in Piccadilly.
SIZE: 63.75 x 53.5 x 5.25 inches framed.
PROVENANCE: Latterly in the collection of an aristocratic family.
Verso: A 19th century label 'G.E. CLIFFORD, Picture Restorer. Successor to Mr. E. Facon Watson' and a later, but old, label 'John King, dealer in Works of Art, 83 Renhaw Street, Liverpool.'
£9,950
Double Portrait of a Lady and Gentleman ...
Item Ref
8602
Oil on canvas now mounted on board in fine period carved and giltwood frame.
This type of small scale portrait is known as a conversation piece and .."was the first real break with the stereotyped portraiture of the early 18th century. It was essentially a private rather than a public art form.
The aim of the coversation piece was to catch the sitter with family and friends in action, and Hogarth, a friend of Hayman's, succeeded extremely well at this." (Francis Hayman by Brian Allen).
Hogarth was a positive influence on Hayman as he had demonstrated that there was a good market for the small scale conversation piece.
In this portrait the male sitter has discarded his wig and wears a velvet cap of the type associated with artists, writers and other creative people. He also wears an expensive silk 'tea gown' to emphasise his relaxation at home. It is clear that the world of literature is being emphasised...a door opens onto a library, more books are on the table and the lady holds a volume with her finger marking her place.
The middle class panelled room is typical of Hayman and occurs many times in his conversation pieces and are, more often than not, a version of his own panelled studio.
FRANCIS HAYMAN R.A. (c.1708-1776) was born in Devon and painted scenery as well as genre, historical subjects and portraits. He had a successful career producing conversation pieces, theartical portraits and small full lengths through the 1740s and 50s, although he also painted on the scale of life. He helped in the foundation of the Society of Artists in 1760 and was President 1766-68; after which he became a Foundation Member of the Royal Academy, and its Librarian in 1771.
Among the pupils in his studio were Thomas Gainsborough R.A. and Nathaniel Dance R.A.
SIZE: 30 x 35 inches inc. frame.
PROVENANCE: Verso, handwritten label "Property of Major J.M.D. Wyatt, Roberstbridge House, Robertsbridge, Sussex"
The late major was the last member of the family which had connections with the D'Obrees in Guernsey.
This type of small scale portrait is known as a conversation piece and .."was the first real break with the stereotyped portraiture of the early 18th century. It was essentially a private rather than a public art form.
The aim of the coversation piece was to catch the sitter with family and friends in action, and Hogarth, a friend of Hayman's, succeeded extremely well at this." (Francis Hayman by Brian Allen).
Hogarth was a positive influence on Hayman as he had demonstrated that there was a good market for the small scale conversation piece.
In this portrait the male sitter has discarded his wig and wears a velvet cap of the type associated with artists, writers and other creative people. He also wears an expensive silk 'tea gown' to emphasise his relaxation at home. It is clear that the world of literature is being emphasised...a door opens onto a library, more books are on the table and the lady holds a volume with her finger marking her place.
The middle class panelled room is typical of Hayman and occurs many times in his conversation pieces and are, more often than not, a version of his own panelled studio.
FRANCIS HAYMAN R.A. (c.1708-1776) was born in Devon and painted scenery as well as genre, historical subjects and portraits. He had a successful career producing conversation pieces, theartical portraits and small full lengths through the 1740s and 50s, although he also painted on the scale of life. He helped in the foundation of the Society of Artists in 1760 and was President 1766-68; after which he became a Foundation Member of the Royal Academy, and its Librarian in 1771.
Among the pupils in his studio were Thomas Gainsborough R.A. and Nathaniel Dance R.A.
SIZE: 30 x 35 inches inc. frame.
PROVENANCE: Verso, handwritten label "Property of Major J.M.D. Wyatt, Roberstbridge House, Robertsbridge, Sussex"
The late major was the last member of the family which had connections with the D'Obrees in Guernsey.
£9,950
Portrait of Phillipa Speke, later Lady Trenchard, ...
Item Ref
9028
Oil on canvas in a gilded 19th century frame. (Frame has some small losses and a damage to the lower right).
At a glance this could be by Mary Beale; the pose and especially the feigned stone oval are characteristic of her work. However, the pose and oval were used by several artists, most notably Sir Peter Lely.
When the painting went for conservation a hardboard backing was removed and, painted on the lining, in what appears to be an 18th century hand, is an inscription naming the sitter as Miss Trenchard, painted by William Wissing in 1682.
Below are excepts from research by Adam Busiakiewicz, art historian:-
" I believe that your portrait very likely to be Philip(a) Trenchard , wife of Sir John Trenchard (1649-1695).
I believe Sir John's wife, Philip(a) daughter of George Speke esq. of Whitelackington, is the best candidate.
She was born in 1663/4 and married Sir John in 1682 - the year that this portrait was made. I think that this portrait was probably made to celebrate their marriage,
I think that there is little doubt that this is a picture by Wissing, dating to 1682.
The quality of the picture is rather good, with lots of character in the face. The blushing cheeks are well painted too. It has far more depth that a Beale. I have attached a few comparisons.
Wissing did paint decorative ovals, although far less often than Beale.
The drapery is good too and lacks the solidity you find in Beale.
The strong political connections between Sir John Trenchard and William III, who was eventually painted by Wissing many times, makes this connection rather interesting.
Of course, we have lots of portraits of William and Mary that Wissing produced from his studio with great speed. One often finds that Wissing eventually settled down into a rather stiff and formulaic manner (as many court painters often did), but, this particular portrait is filled with character and freshness."
SIR JOHN TRENCHARD (30 March 1649 – 27 April 16950 was one of Stuart England’s most accomplished and controversial aristocratic statesmen or “principal secretary of state for life”.
He belonged to an old Dorset family. He was born on 30 March 1649 at Lytchett Matravers, near Poole, to Thomas Trenchard of Wolverton (1615–1671), and his wife Hannah née Henley (d. 1691). His grandfather was Sir Thomas Trenchard of Wolverton (1582–1657), who was knighted by James I in 1613. John Trenchard entered Parliament as member for Taunton in 1679. He associated himself with those who proposed to exclude the Duke of York from the throne, and attended some of the meetings held by these malcontents. It is possible he was concerned in the Rye House Plot. In fact, he was arrested at one of the events in July 1683, but no definite evidence was brought against him so he was released.
When Monmouth landed in the west of England in June 1685, Trenchard fled from England to Groningen, Netherlands. Around 1687-1688, he was pardoned , and able to return home. Again he entered Parliament, but he took no active part in the Revolution of 1688, although he managed to secure the good will of William III. On 29 October 1689, he was knighted by the King, and made Chief Justice of Chester. In 1692, he was appointed Secretary of State.
On 10 November 1682, he had married: Philippa Speke (1664–1743), daughter of George Speke of White Lackington, Somerset.
Sir John died on 27 April 1695 at Kensington, London, and is buried at Bloxworth, Dorset.
Phillipa remarried and lived for another 50 years.
WILLIAM WISSING (1656 - 1687) After Lely's death in 1680, Wissing emerged as his most important pupil. Wissing’s royal sitters include Charles II of England, Queen Catharine of Braganza, Prince George of Denmark and the Duke of Monmouth.
SIZE; 39 x 34 inches inc.frame.
PROVENANCE: descent in a Dorset family. (It is plausible that this of portrait might have descended down with the Trenchard family, of Lychett Maltravers, Dorset)
At a glance this could be by Mary Beale; the pose and especially the feigned stone oval are characteristic of her work. However, the pose and oval were used by several artists, most notably Sir Peter Lely.
When the painting went for conservation a hardboard backing was removed and, painted on the lining, in what appears to be an 18th century hand, is an inscription naming the sitter as Miss Trenchard, painted by William Wissing in 1682.
Below are excepts from research by Adam Busiakiewicz, art historian:-
" I believe that your portrait very likely to be Philip(a) Trenchard , wife of Sir John Trenchard (1649-1695).
I believe Sir John's wife, Philip(a) daughter of George Speke esq. of Whitelackington, is the best candidate.
She was born in 1663/4 and married Sir John in 1682 - the year that this portrait was made. I think that this portrait was probably made to celebrate their marriage,
I think that there is little doubt that this is a picture by Wissing, dating to 1682.
The quality of the picture is rather good, with lots of character in the face. The blushing cheeks are well painted too. It has far more depth that a Beale. I have attached a few comparisons.
Wissing did paint decorative ovals, although far less often than Beale.
The drapery is good too and lacks the solidity you find in Beale.
The strong political connections between Sir John Trenchard and William III, who was eventually painted by Wissing many times, makes this connection rather interesting.
Of course, we have lots of portraits of William and Mary that Wissing produced from his studio with great speed. One often finds that Wissing eventually settled down into a rather stiff and formulaic manner (as many court painters often did), but, this particular portrait is filled with character and freshness."
SIR JOHN TRENCHARD (30 March 1649 – 27 April 16950 was one of Stuart England’s most accomplished and controversial aristocratic statesmen or “principal secretary of state for life”.
He belonged to an old Dorset family. He was born on 30 March 1649 at Lytchett Matravers, near Poole, to Thomas Trenchard of Wolverton (1615–1671), and his wife Hannah née Henley (d. 1691). His grandfather was Sir Thomas Trenchard of Wolverton (1582–1657), who was knighted by James I in 1613. John Trenchard entered Parliament as member for Taunton in 1679. He associated himself with those who proposed to exclude the Duke of York from the throne, and attended some of the meetings held by these malcontents. It is possible he was concerned in the Rye House Plot. In fact, he was arrested at one of the events in July 1683, but no definite evidence was brought against him so he was released.
When Monmouth landed in the west of England in June 1685, Trenchard fled from England to Groningen, Netherlands. Around 1687-1688, he was pardoned , and able to return home. Again he entered Parliament, but he took no active part in the Revolution of 1688, although he managed to secure the good will of William III. On 29 October 1689, he was knighted by the King, and made Chief Justice of Chester. In 1692, he was appointed Secretary of State.
On 10 November 1682, he had married: Philippa Speke (1664–1743), daughter of George Speke of White Lackington, Somerset.
Sir John died on 27 April 1695 at Kensington, London, and is buried at Bloxworth, Dorset.
Phillipa remarried and lived for another 50 years.
WILLIAM WISSING (1656 - 1687) After Lely's death in 1680, Wissing emerged as his most important pupil. Wissing’s royal sitters include Charles II of England, Queen Catharine of Braganza, Prince George of Denmark and the Duke of Monmouth.
SIZE; 39 x 34 inches inc.frame.
PROVENANCE: descent in a Dorset family. (It is plausible that this of portrait might have descended down with the Trenchard family, of Lychett Maltravers, Dorset)
£9,850
Portrait of Captain Henry Withypoll, 1637; Studio ...
Item Ref
9076
This is a high quality portrait, oil on canvas, in a fine carved and giltwood 18th century frame. The painting bears the inscription "Capitaie Henerij Whitipol . Major(?) An. 1637"
The inscription has been examined under UV light and, although strengthened, looks original.
The fashionably moustached sitter looks out at us proudly, wearing an officer's silk sash of rank over his armour.
The WITHYPOLLs were a family of very rich merchant adventurers with interests in Bristol and Genoa. Based in Ipswich, owning Christchurch Mansion, now the art gallery.
Sir Edmund Withypoll married Frances, daughter of Sir William Cornwallis of Broke.
Eldest son Sir William (about whom much online); younger son Henry or Harry, baptised Brome 26 Aug 1602.
Between 1646 and 1652 Henry married Mary, daughter of Sir Robert Carey.
His wife's family were much involved in the Netherlands on behalf of the States General.
A letter survives dated 10 Jan 1638, Breda, endorsing Capt. Withypoll.
And in 1646 he was described as "residing mostly in Holland where he has a company of soldiers under him". In 1648 he was elevated to the rank of Major in the English regiments in the service of the Dutch States General.
He had died by 1670.
GERRIT VAN HONTHORST (1592 – 1656) was a Dutch Golden Age painter; born in Utrecht,
He built a considerable reputation both in the Dutch Republic and abroad. Queen Elizabeth of Bohemia, mother of Prince Rupert, sister of Charles I of England, then in exile in the Netherlands, commissioned Honthorst as a painter. Through her he became known to King Charles, who invited him to England in 1628.
After his return to Utrecht, Honthorst retained the patronage of the English monarch, painting for him, in 1631, a large picture of the king and queen of Bohemia and all their children. His popularity in the Netherlands was such that he opened a second studio in the Hague, where he painted portraits of members of the court. These were large studios, where the work of his assistants included making replicas of Honthorst's royal portraits.
SIZE: 37.50inch framed height 3.25inch framed width (95.25 cm framed height 8.25 cm framed width)
PROVENANCE: Collection of Lord Berners, Faringdon House, Oxfordshire. (See last 3 images).
The inscription has been examined under UV light and, although strengthened, looks original.
The fashionably moustached sitter looks out at us proudly, wearing an officer's silk sash of rank over his armour.
The WITHYPOLLs were a family of very rich merchant adventurers with interests in Bristol and Genoa. Based in Ipswich, owning Christchurch Mansion, now the art gallery.
Sir Edmund Withypoll married Frances, daughter of Sir William Cornwallis of Broke.
Eldest son Sir William (about whom much online); younger son Henry or Harry, baptised Brome 26 Aug 1602.
Between 1646 and 1652 Henry married Mary, daughter of Sir Robert Carey.
His wife's family were much involved in the Netherlands on behalf of the States General.
A letter survives dated 10 Jan 1638, Breda, endorsing Capt. Withypoll.
And in 1646 he was described as "residing mostly in Holland where he has a company of soldiers under him". In 1648 he was elevated to the rank of Major in the English regiments in the service of the Dutch States General.
He had died by 1670.
GERRIT VAN HONTHORST (1592 – 1656) was a Dutch Golden Age painter; born in Utrecht,
He built a considerable reputation both in the Dutch Republic and abroad. Queen Elizabeth of Bohemia, mother of Prince Rupert, sister of Charles I of England, then in exile in the Netherlands, commissioned Honthorst as a painter. Through her he became known to King Charles, who invited him to England in 1628.
After his return to Utrecht, Honthorst retained the patronage of the English monarch, painting for him, in 1631, a large picture of the king and queen of Bohemia and all their children. His popularity in the Netherlands was such that he opened a second studio in the Hague, where he painted portraits of members of the court. These were large studios, where the work of his assistants included making replicas of Honthorst's royal portraits.
SIZE: 37.50inch framed height 3.25inch framed width (95.25 cm framed height 8.25 cm framed width)
PROVENANCE: Collection of Lord Berners, Faringdon House, Oxfordshire. (See last 3 images).
£8,995
Portrait of Elizabeth, Countess of Carnarvon c.1650; ...
Item Ref
8978
Oil on canvas in old reproduction frame of the correct period type.
The Countess is depicted in the mythical realm of Arcady, a fshionable conceit of the time.
At the centre of Arcady is the Garden of Love where a figure of Cupid sits atop a fountain.
Elizabeth places her hand in the water...this is a motif much used by Van Dyck and Lely and it makes an allusion to her potential as a wife and mother, recalling Proverbs, chapter 5, verse 18 "Let thy fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of thy youth".
The lamb represents innocence, gentleness, patience and humility....and is,of course, an emblem of Chtistianity.
There is little doubt that this portrait represents a celebration of Elizabeth's forthcoming marriage.
ELIZABETH CAPEL (1633-1678) was baptised on 4 June 1633 at Hadham Parva, Hertfordshire, England. She was the daughter of Arthur Capel, 1st Baron Capel of Hadham, and Elizabeth Morrison.
She married Charles Dormer, 2nd Earl of Carnarvon, son of Robert Dormer, 1st Earl of Carnarvon and Lady Anna Sophia Herbert, before 1653.
Her father was executed by Parliament for Royalist activities during the Civil War in 1649.
The Carnarvons and the Capels were great patrons of Sir Peter Lely and the miniaturist Richard Gibson both of whom painted numerous portraits of Elizabeth and her family in the 1650s.
Tha Capel family were great flower lovers; Elizabeth, Lady Carnarvon was a talented flower painter, her brother did much to develop the gardens at Kew, and her sister, the Duchess of Beaufort, developed the gardens at Badminton and Beaufort House.
The marriage produced a daughter, Lady Elizabeth Dormer, born in 1653 and died aged 24 the year before her mother, who was herself only 45.
The Countess was buried on 6 August 1678 at Wing, Buckinghamshire, England.
DAVID DES GRANGES (1611-c.1671-2)was a miniaturist but also painted on the scale of life. He married a member of the Hoskins family of artists.
He was employed by both Charles I and II. In 1658 he was described as a portraitist on the scale of life (Sanderson, Graphice, 1658).
Signed and dated portraits of 1632 and 1662 (Sir Robert Chester)are known.
The large painting of the Saltonstall family in the Tate Gallery is traditionally attributed to him.
SIZE:58 x 47.5 inches inc. frame.
PROVENANCE:
*Alexander Edward Murray VC, DSO, MVO, DL (1872-1962), , 8th Earl of Dunmore.
*Christie's, London, 4 March 1932 as 'Lely' (5 gns. to F. Howard).
*Collection of J.W. Delditt.
*Sold by Woods Interior Design, Harrogate, Yorkshire.
*Burrow Hall, Kirkby Lonsdale, Cumbria.
*With Roy Precious Fine Art.
*Collection of a Fellow of a Cambridge College.
VERSO: Old red wax coat of arms collection seal.
Hand written inscription in Polish (?)
Old London framers label.
Old hand written label:"the property of J W Delditt, Great Tower St."
The Countess is depicted in the mythical realm of Arcady, a fshionable conceit of the time.
At the centre of Arcady is the Garden of Love where a figure of Cupid sits atop a fountain.
Elizabeth places her hand in the water...this is a motif much used by Van Dyck and Lely and it makes an allusion to her potential as a wife and mother, recalling Proverbs, chapter 5, verse 18 "Let thy fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of thy youth".
The lamb represents innocence, gentleness, patience and humility....and is,of course, an emblem of Chtistianity.
There is little doubt that this portrait represents a celebration of Elizabeth's forthcoming marriage.
ELIZABETH CAPEL (1633-1678) was baptised on 4 June 1633 at Hadham Parva, Hertfordshire, England. She was the daughter of Arthur Capel, 1st Baron Capel of Hadham, and Elizabeth Morrison.
She married Charles Dormer, 2nd Earl of Carnarvon, son of Robert Dormer, 1st Earl of Carnarvon and Lady Anna Sophia Herbert, before 1653.
Her father was executed by Parliament for Royalist activities during the Civil War in 1649.
The Carnarvons and the Capels were great patrons of Sir Peter Lely and the miniaturist Richard Gibson both of whom painted numerous portraits of Elizabeth and her family in the 1650s.
Tha Capel family were great flower lovers; Elizabeth, Lady Carnarvon was a talented flower painter, her brother did much to develop the gardens at Kew, and her sister, the Duchess of Beaufort, developed the gardens at Badminton and Beaufort House.
The marriage produced a daughter, Lady Elizabeth Dormer, born in 1653 and died aged 24 the year before her mother, who was herself only 45.
The Countess was buried on 6 August 1678 at Wing, Buckinghamshire, England.
DAVID DES GRANGES (1611-c.1671-2)was a miniaturist but also painted on the scale of life. He married a member of the Hoskins family of artists.
He was employed by both Charles I and II. In 1658 he was described as a portraitist on the scale of life (Sanderson, Graphice, 1658).
Signed and dated portraits of 1632 and 1662 (Sir Robert Chester)are known.
The large painting of the Saltonstall family in the Tate Gallery is traditionally attributed to him.
SIZE:58 x 47.5 inches inc. frame.
PROVENANCE:
*Alexander Edward Murray VC, DSO, MVO, DL (1872-1962), , 8th Earl of Dunmore.
*Christie's, London, 4 March 1932 as 'Lely' (5 gns. to F. Howard).
*Collection of J.W. Delditt.
*Sold by Woods Interior Design, Harrogate, Yorkshire.
*Burrow Hall, Kirkby Lonsdale, Cumbria.
*With Roy Precious Fine Art.
*Collection of a Fellow of a Cambridge College.
VERSO: Old red wax coat of arms collection seal.
Hand written inscription in Polish (?)
Old London framers label.
Old hand written label:"the property of J W Delditt, Great Tower St."
£8,950
Portrait of Benjamin Haworth c. 1750; Circle ...
Item Ref
8994
Oil on canvas in a modern reproduction frame.
The sitter, Benjamin Haworth, is shown in a pose very fashionable at that time...that of a sporting country gentleman, with his dog and fowling piece.
The Haworths were an old and influential Yorkshire family of Haworth Hall, Dunswell, Hull, Yorkshire. They were timber merchants and extensive landowners, some of them Baronets.
The Blaydes and the Booths were rich and powerful merchant families who had married into the Haworths. Like the aristocracy these wealthy merchants married within their peers, always with an eye on increasing their wealth and power.
BENJAMIN HAWORTH was born in 1728, son of Thomas Haworth (also on this website) and Mary Blaydes, daughter of Benjamin Blaydes.
Benjamin Haworth married Anne, daughter of John Booth, in 1756. Their son Benjamin Blaydes Haworth (also on this website) was born in 1763 and became Sheriff of Hull in 1813.
Benjamin died in 1798.
ALLAN RAMSAY 1713–1784.
Ramsay was born in Edinburgh. His father, also Allan Ramsay, was an important Scottish poet from whom the younger Ramsay inherited a tradition of strong nationalistic pride. Ramsay junior was instrumental in formulating a native Scottish style of painting, as his father had done for poetry.
Ramsay studied in London at St Martin's Lane Academy and at Hans Hysing's studio, before going to Italy. He worked from 1736 to 1738 at the French Academy in Rome under Francesco Imperiali and under Francesco Solimena in Naples. On his return he settled in London, although he continued to be active in Edinburgh. Between 1754 and 1757 he was in Italy, mostly in Rome. He was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries in 1743. During his prime period he had a virtual monopoly on court painting. He became the official painter to George III in 1760, and Principal Painter-in-Ordinary in 1767. His assistants included David Martin, Alexander Nasmyth and Philip Reinagle.
SIZE: 49.75 x 41 inches inc. frame.
PROVENANCE: Haworth Hall, then by descent in the family to a branch which settled in Oxfordshire. Deceased estate.
Verso: old handwritten label identifying the sitter.
The sitter, Benjamin Haworth, is shown in a pose very fashionable at that time...that of a sporting country gentleman, with his dog and fowling piece.
The Haworths were an old and influential Yorkshire family of Haworth Hall, Dunswell, Hull, Yorkshire. They were timber merchants and extensive landowners, some of them Baronets.
The Blaydes and the Booths were rich and powerful merchant families who had married into the Haworths. Like the aristocracy these wealthy merchants married within their peers, always with an eye on increasing their wealth and power.
BENJAMIN HAWORTH was born in 1728, son of Thomas Haworth (also on this website) and Mary Blaydes, daughter of Benjamin Blaydes.
Benjamin Haworth married Anne, daughter of John Booth, in 1756. Their son Benjamin Blaydes Haworth (also on this website) was born in 1763 and became Sheriff of Hull in 1813.
Benjamin died in 1798.
ALLAN RAMSAY 1713–1784.
Ramsay was born in Edinburgh. His father, also Allan Ramsay, was an important Scottish poet from whom the younger Ramsay inherited a tradition of strong nationalistic pride. Ramsay junior was instrumental in formulating a native Scottish style of painting, as his father had done for poetry.
Ramsay studied in London at St Martin's Lane Academy and at Hans Hysing's studio, before going to Italy. He worked from 1736 to 1738 at the French Academy in Rome under Francesco Imperiali and under Francesco Solimena in Naples. On his return he settled in London, although he continued to be active in Edinburgh. Between 1754 and 1757 he was in Italy, mostly in Rome. He was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries in 1743. During his prime period he had a virtual monopoly on court painting. He became the official painter to George III in 1760, and Principal Painter-in-Ordinary in 1767. His assistants included David Martin, Alexander Nasmyth and Philip Reinagle.
SIZE: 49.75 x 41 inches inc. frame.
PROVENANCE: Haworth Hall, then by descent in the family to a branch which settled in Oxfordshire. Deceased estate.
Verso: old handwritten label identifying the sitter.
£8,650
Portrait of a Lady c.1685: Circle of ...
Item Ref
8930
Oil on canvas in a very fine Italian carved and giltwood frame.
This excellent painting is a good example of the art of the Baroque period, with great care give to the depiction of the sitter's expensive silks and lace.
Adriaen Hanneman (c. 1603 - buried 11 July 1671) was a Dutch Golden Age painter best-known today for his portraits of the exiled British royal court. His style was strongly influenced by his contemporary, Anthony van Dyck.
He was born into a wealthy Catholic patrician family in the Hague, and studied drawing with Hague portrait artist Jan Antonisz. van Ravesteyn
SIZE:43 x 37 inches inc. frame.
PROVENANCE: From a Belgian chateau and by descent.
This excellent painting is a good example of the art of the Baroque period, with great care give to the depiction of the sitter's expensive silks and lace.
Adriaen Hanneman (c. 1603 - buried 11 July 1671) was a Dutch Golden Age painter best-known today for his portraits of the exiled British royal court. His style was strongly influenced by his contemporary, Anthony van Dyck.
He was born into a wealthy Catholic patrician family in the Hague, and studied drawing with Hague portrait artist Jan Antonisz. van Ravesteyn
SIZE:43 x 37 inches inc. frame.
PROVENANCE: From a Belgian chateau and by descent.
£8,650
Portrait of a Young Girl c.1670; Circle ...
Item Ref
8655N
Oil on canvas in a reproduction gilt frame.
The sitter, standing by a stone balustrade and looking at the roses, seems to have become aware of the viewer and turns with a half smile and a mildly inquiring look.
This is a fine quality painting showing the expertise of the artist in the depiction of very different things...the fresh young skin of the sitter, the hard stone of the balustrade, the fragility of the flowers and the soft lustrous silks of the girl's clothing.
The flowers are highly symbolic, they are the attribute of Spring personified...and the girl is in the Spring of her life. They also represent Smell, one of the Five Senses, and of the goddesses Flora and Aurora. They are sometimes the attribute of Hope and they represent the fleeting quality of life and the evanescent quality of childhood.
The rose, of course, is also a symbol of love.
ABRAHAM VAN DEN TEMPEL (c.1622 – 8 October 1672) was a Dutch Golden Age painter.
He probably learned painting from his father, also a painter, but who died when he was still quite young, in 1636. That is the same year that he moved to Amsterdam, where he stayed until 1647, whereupon he moved to Leiden.
According to Houbraken he was the son of a Mennonite preacher in Leeuwarden who was a respected art teacher. His father was Lambert Jacobsz (or Jacobszoon), who had taught Govert Flinck and Jacob Adriaensz Backer in their youth, both of whom were artists from Mennonite families.
Abraham took the name Tempel because when he studied in Leiden, he lived in a house there with a relief of a Tempel in the keystone. He became a pupil of Jacob Backer, and studied mathematics at Leiden University. He met with great success with the Leiden city council, earning several generous commissions, including a series of three large allegorical paintings on the cloth industry of Leiden for the Cloth Hall which still hang in their original place today in the Stedelijk Museum De Lakenhal.
He became Master of the Guild of St. Luke in 1657 and in 1659 he was Chartermaster. In 1660 he returned to Amsterdam. His pupils were Frans van Mieris the Elder, Carel de Moor, Michiel van Musscher, Ary de Vois, and Isaac Paling.
Our thanks to Villa Nuova Fine Arts.
SIZE: 31.50 x 27 inches framed. (80 x 68.5 cm)
Canvas size: 24 x 19.5 inches (61 x 49 cm).
PROVENANCE: private collection.
VERSO: old printed label: 'Maas. Portrait of a girl plucking roses'.
The sitter, standing by a stone balustrade and looking at the roses, seems to have become aware of the viewer and turns with a half smile and a mildly inquiring look.
This is a fine quality painting showing the expertise of the artist in the depiction of very different things...the fresh young skin of the sitter, the hard stone of the balustrade, the fragility of the flowers and the soft lustrous silks of the girl's clothing.
The flowers are highly symbolic, they are the attribute of Spring personified...and the girl is in the Spring of her life. They also represent Smell, one of the Five Senses, and of the goddesses Flora and Aurora. They are sometimes the attribute of Hope and they represent the fleeting quality of life and the evanescent quality of childhood.
The rose, of course, is also a symbol of love.
ABRAHAM VAN DEN TEMPEL (c.1622 – 8 October 1672) was a Dutch Golden Age painter.
He probably learned painting from his father, also a painter, but who died when he was still quite young, in 1636. That is the same year that he moved to Amsterdam, where he stayed until 1647, whereupon he moved to Leiden.
According to Houbraken he was the son of a Mennonite preacher in Leeuwarden who was a respected art teacher. His father was Lambert Jacobsz (or Jacobszoon), who had taught Govert Flinck and Jacob Adriaensz Backer in their youth, both of whom were artists from Mennonite families.
Abraham took the name Tempel because when he studied in Leiden, he lived in a house there with a relief of a Tempel in the keystone. He became a pupil of Jacob Backer, and studied mathematics at Leiden University. He met with great success with the Leiden city council, earning several generous commissions, including a series of three large allegorical paintings on the cloth industry of Leiden for the Cloth Hall which still hang in their original place today in the Stedelijk Museum De Lakenhal.
He became Master of the Guild of St. Luke in 1657 and in 1659 he was Chartermaster. In 1660 he returned to Amsterdam. His pupils were Frans van Mieris the Elder, Carel de Moor, Michiel van Musscher, Ary de Vois, and Isaac Paling.
Our thanks to Villa Nuova Fine Arts.
SIZE: 31.50 x 27 inches framed. (80 x 68.5 cm)
Canvas size: 24 x 19.5 inches (61 x 49 cm).
PROVENANCE: private collection.
VERSO: old printed label: 'Maas. Portrait of a girl plucking roses'.
£8,450
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