Portrait of Princess Isabella (1676-1681), seated, full-length, a garland of flowers in her hair, a lamb beside her, in an extensive landscape

Princess Isabella, born on 28 August 1676, was the second eldest daughter of James, Duke of York, later King James II (1685-1688), and his second wife, Mary of Modena. The prime version of this picture (Royal Collection, Hampton Court; see Sir O. Millar, The Tudor, Stuart and Early Georgian Pictures in the Collection of her Majesty the Queen, London, 1963, p. 122, no. 246, illus. 117) is thought to have been painted in 1677 and, although the canvas has since been reduced, the original composition is recorded in the circa 1684 mezzotint by Alexander Browne. The present version shows the entire composition as seen in the mezzotint. Other versions and copies are recorded at Drayton and Berkeley Castle, and one sold at Sotheby's, London, on 16 July 1952 (lot 71), could have been the copy painted for Lely's executors by Frederick Sonnius.