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Lot Essay
The sitter was the eldest child of Sir Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon, Lord Chancellor to King Charles II, and Frances, daughter of Sir Thomas Aylesbury, bt. (d. 1667). Anne was introduced to her future husband, King James II, by his sister, Princess Mary, wife of William II of Orange-Nassau, for whom she had acted as Maid of Honour in 1655. Despite initial opposition from King Charles II, who was concerned by the implications of the marriage given the imminent Restoration of the monarchy, and more sustained objection from the Queen Mother, Henrietta Maria, who had a strong dislike for Clarendon, the couple married secretly in September 1660.
Anne played a key role in the political life of her husband, and exercised a strong influence over him, as Pepys commented, 'the duke of York, in all things but his codpiece, is led by the nose by his wife' (The Life of Edward, Earl of Clarendon, III, 1827, 9.342). According to Anthony Hamilton, the Duchess of York 'had a majestic air, a pretty good shape, not much beauty, a great deal of wit' and 'an air of grandeur in all her actions' (The Life of James the Second, King of England, ed. J.A. Clark, II, 1816, p. 110).
Anne sat to Lely, the pre-eminent portrait painter 'in large' at the Restoration Court, on a number of occasions. The present portrait is likely to date from the mid-1660s. The facial type derives from the full-length of the Duchess, seated holding a tress of hair in her right hand, at Hampton Court (c. 1662; see O. Millar, The Tudor, Stuart and Early Georgian Pictures, London, 1963, p. 121, no. 242, fig. 101). The Duchess was pregnant for much of that decade, giving birth to four sons, all of whom died in infancy: Charles (1660-1661); James (1663-1667); Charles, Duke of Kendal (1666-1667); and Edgar (1667-1671). The glass globe on which the Duchess rests her right hand in the present painting may be symbolic of the Duchess's hope for more children. A similar, but much larger glass globe features in Van Dyck's portrait of Rachel, Countess of Southampton (1603-1640) (Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge), but again the symbolism is unclear. The Duchess was to give birth to a total of eight children, two of whom, Mary (1662-1694) and Anne (1665-1714) were to become Queens of England.
The Duchess of York became one of Lely's most important patrons in the 1660s, commissioning a famous series of portraits of women at Court known collectively as The Windsor Beauties (The Royal Collection, Hampton Court), possibly inspired by portraits the Duchess would have seen in Amalia von Solms's collection at The Hague.
This portrait was recorded as early as 1759 in the collection of the Duke of Hamilton, at Hamilton Palace, where it remained until it was sold at Christie's in 1882, with outstanding pictures with works by Dutch, Flemish, Italian, French and English artists, including major works by Rubens, Titian and Van Dyck. Hamilton Palace, one of the largest non-royal residences in the Western world during its heyday, was built in 1695 by James Smith, with interiors by William Adam, for William, 3rd Duke of Hamilton. By the mid-19th century, the palace housed the finest collections of paintings in Scotland. The 12th Duke of Hamilton was forced to sell off a large portion of the contents to cover its debts, while his successor, Alfred, 13th Duke lent the palace for use as a naval hospital during World War I. By the time it was returned in 1919, the cost of renovation was so great that the remainder of the contents and fittings were sold, and the building was demolished in 1921.
This painting was later at Encombe, Dorset, which was built in 1734 for (and possibly by) John Pitt, Member of Parliament for Wareham, and cousin of William Pitt the Elder. John Scott, 1st Earl of Eldon (1751-1838) was Lord Chancellor in Pitt's administration when he bought Encombe in 1806. The Scott family sold Encombe in 2002 and the contents were sold at Christie's on 23 January this year.
Anne played a key role in the political life of her husband, and exercised a strong influence over him, as Pepys commented, 'the duke of York, in all things but his codpiece, is led by the nose by his wife' (The Life of Edward, Earl of Clarendon, III, 1827, 9.342). According to Anthony Hamilton, the Duchess of York 'had a majestic air, a pretty good shape, not much beauty, a great deal of wit' and 'an air of grandeur in all her actions' (The Life of James the Second, King of England, ed. J.A. Clark, II, 1816, p. 110).
Anne sat to Lely, the pre-eminent portrait painter 'in large' at the Restoration Court, on a number of occasions. The present portrait is likely to date from the mid-1660s. The facial type derives from the full-length of the Duchess, seated holding a tress of hair in her right hand, at Hampton Court (c. 1662; see O. Millar, The Tudor, Stuart and Early Georgian Pictures, London, 1963, p. 121, no. 242, fig. 101). The Duchess was pregnant for much of that decade, giving birth to four sons, all of whom died in infancy: Charles (1660-1661); James (1663-1667); Charles, Duke of Kendal (1666-1667); and Edgar (1667-1671). The glass globe on which the Duchess rests her right hand in the present painting may be symbolic of the Duchess's hope for more children. A similar, but much larger glass globe features in Van Dyck's portrait of Rachel, Countess of Southampton (1603-1640) (Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge), but again the symbolism is unclear. The Duchess was to give birth to a total of eight children, two of whom, Mary (1662-1694) and Anne (1665-1714) were to become Queens of England.
The Duchess of York became one of Lely's most important patrons in the 1660s, commissioning a famous series of portraits of women at Court known collectively as The Windsor Beauties (The Royal Collection, Hampton Court), possibly inspired by portraits the Duchess would have seen in Amalia von Solms's collection at The Hague.
This portrait was recorded as early as 1759 in the collection of the Duke of Hamilton, at Hamilton Palace, where it remained until it was sold at Christie's in 1882, with outstanding pictures with works by Dutch, Flemish, Italian, French and English artists, including major works by Rubens, Titian and Van Dyck. Hamilton Palace, one of the largest non-royal residences in the Western world during its heyday, was built in 1695 by James Smith, with interiors by William Adam, for William, 3rd Duke of Hamilton. By the mid-19th century, the palace housed the finest collections of paintings in Scotland. The 12th Duke of Hamilton was forced to sell off a large portion of the contents to cover its debts, while his successor, Alfred, 13th Duke lent the palace for use as a naval hospital during World War I. By the time it was returned in 1919, the cost of renovation was so great that the remainder of the contents and fittings were sold, and the building was demolished in 1921.
This painting was later at Encombe, Dorset, which was built in 1734 for (and possibly by) John Pitt, Member of Parliament for Wareham, and cousin of William Pitt the Elder. John Scott, 1st Earl of Eldon (1751-1838) was Lord Chancellor in Pitt's administration when he bought Encombe in 1806. The Scott family sold Encombe in 2002 and the contents were sold at Christie's on 23 January this year.