Lot Essay
Lady Henrietta Hamilton was the daughter of Field Marshal George Hamilton, 1st Earl of Orkney (1666-1737) and Elizabeth Villiers (1657-1733), the reputed former mistress of King William III. On 9 May 1728, Henrietta married John Boyle, 5th Earl of Cork and 5th Earl of Orrery (1707-1762), at Albemarle Street in London, and the couple went on to have three children. A bust-length portrait of her husband attributed to Isaac Seeman forms part of the primary collection at the National Portrait Gallery, London. The present portrait bears an indistinct inscription on the reverse identifying Seeman as the painter and an engraving after this picture by George Vertue, dated 1732, confirms his authorship.