Portrait of a gentleman, possibly Lord Robert Russell (c.1645-c.1703) bust-length, in a lace cravat and blue drapery

Details

SIR GODFREY KNELLER (LÜBECK 1646-1723 LONDON)
Portrait of a gentleman, possibly Lord Robert Russell (c.1645-c.1703) bust-length, in a lace cravat and blue drapery
oil on canvas, oval
26 ½ x 17 ¾ in. (67 x 45 cm.)
Please note that 100% of the hammer proceeds from this auction will be paid to the Sandys Trust, registered charity number: 1168357, with the exception of limited deductions towards sale costs across the auction which cannot be accurately calculated at this time, capped at a total of £10,000.

Provenance

By descent to Richard Hill, 7th Baron Sandys (1931-2013), Ombersley Court, Worcestershire.

Literature

J. Grego, Inventory of Pictures: Portraits, Paintings, etc., Ombersley MS., 1905, where listed in the Grand Staircase.
ONM / 1 / 2 / 7, journal entry for a visit to Ombersley Court, 25 August 1950, Oliver Millar Archive, Paul Mellon Centre, London, p. 25.
Ombersley Court Inventory, June 1963, annotated Ombersley MS., where listed in the Principal Staircase and Landing.
Ombersley Court Catalogue of Pictures, undated, Ombersley MS., p. 38, where listed in the Main Staircase.

Conditions of sale

Brought to you by

Adrian Hume-Sayer Director, Specialist

Lot Essay

The painting bears a close resemblance to a portrait of Robert Russell at Weston Park. The fifth son of the 4th Earl of Bedford (see lot 58), Russell was the cousin and second husband of Letitia Russell. Her brother, Admiral Edward Russell's collection, passed down to the Sandys family through his great-niece, and Letitia Russell's grand-daughter, Letitia Tipping (see lots 97 and 100). It's possible that the present painting descended through this line.

Oliver Millar commented that the 'very thin and liquid' paint, 'with a greenish tone in the whites' is typical of Kneller's early period (op cit., p. 25).

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