Manner of Godfrey Kneller, Portrait of a Gentleman

Oil on canvas; held in an early 18th century frame Provenance: An English Country House once owned by the Dukes of Leeds Margaret Godolphin was the youngest daughter of Henrietta, Duchess of Marlbough and Francis, 2nd Earl Godolphin. Henrietta succeeded to the Marlborough title on the death of her father, John Churchill, in 1722 and had four legitimate children. Very little appears to be known of her youngest daughter Margaret and it is variously mentioned that she and a brother Henry died in infancy. Charles D’Agar was born in Paris, the son of French portrait painter Jacques D’Agar. Soon after moving to London in 1681, Jacques secured an appointment in Copenhagen as Court painter to Christian V resulting in a move for the family to Denmark. Charles, however, after further tuition traveled back to London in 1691 and established a hugely successful portrait practice. The Marlborough family appear to have been popula r patrons of D’Agar as various portraits exist by him, notably one of Henrietta with her eldest son William (Sothebys British Paintings 14th March 1990 lot 45) and another of two Godolphin children (Christie's Cowdray Park 13-15th September 2011 lot 300). The latter is of particular interest as contrary to the traditional description the portrait clearly depicts Margaret as a very young child swathed in a blue cloak with her eldest brother William standing...

Jan van der Vaart (1647-1727) Portrait of Dorothy, Lady Brownlow (1664-1700) Oil on canvas; held in a period carved wood frame circa 1687 Considered a beauty of the age, Dorothy, Lady Brownlow was painted on a number of occasions by some of the most talented and respected artists of the day; Kneller, Riley, Closterman, Dahl and Wissing, all rendered her features in oil for posterity. The portrait presented here is by Jan van der Vaart who from 1685-1687 was employed by Willem Wissing as a drapery and landscape painter. After Wissing’s death in 1687 he practiced as an independent portraitist much in the style of his master with some influence also of Kneller. This work is in fact the head and shoulders taken from Wissing’s three-quarter length of Lady Brownlow which hangs at Belton House, Lincolnshire and produced as a mezzotint in 1687. Van der Vaart has made some intriguing alterations particularly as the sitter now looks directly at us, appearing rather more provocative and self assured of her beauty. The confident rendering of the dress and pearls and the thickly drawn copious hair are hallmarks of Van der Vaart’s work. It is likely he completed this portrait – shortly after Wissing’s version – as a smaller variant intended for another family member as was often the practice. Dorothy Mason married Sir William Brownlow 4th Bt. in July 1688; she was the daughter and heir of Sir Richard Mason a politician and courtier to Charles II who owned estates at Bishop’s Castle, Salop and Sutton Surrey. She came from, and married into extreme wealth; her dowry upon marriage was £10,000 and on her death her husband inherited the estates that were once her father’s. In June 1697 William Brownlow succeeded his brother to the baronetcy and to most of his landed estates including Belton House. In 1698 he abandoned his Peterborough seat to contest Bishop’s Castle on behalf of his wife and in the interest of his mother-in-law, Lady Anna Mason...

A late 19th century still life oil depicting a melon, a vine branch with grapes, tomatoes, plumbs and hazelnuts on a marble table top. Oil on canvas. Set within a guilt composite...

A late 19th century botanical study depicting a red lily. Watercolor on paper held within a reeded giltwood frame.

A 15/100 scale beautiful watercolor of a steam locomotive listing the technical names for the component parts and inscribed 'Pensionnat St Gabriel - Chatell...

Jessica Taylor: "When I painted this I was thinking about dementia, the struggle to relate, and the concept that someone’s light has gone out. I think it’s more about us finding a wa...

Oil-on-canvas portrait of Lady Henrietta Crofts, Duchess of Bolton and daughter of the Duke of Monmouth, standing three-quarter length in white silk ...

An exquisite circa 1720 English George I period "Kit-kat" style portrait firmly attributed to royal court painter Sir Godfrey Kneller (8 August 1646 – 19 October 1723) of a bewigged ...

Style of Godfrey Kneller (1646-1723) (19th Century) "Elizabeth Holland" Unsigned Oil on canvas Measuring 33.25 in. x 26.25 in. (84.45 cm. x 66.67 cm.) Provenance: Newman Galler...

19th Century copy of 18th century portrait of Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford, (born 1661, London, died 1724, London). He was a British statesman who headed the Tory ministry from ...

This is a fine oil painting of a gentleman. 19th century.

Very well executed oil on canvas featuring a distinguished gentleman presented in a gilt frame measuring 18" x 15.5". The painting was done by a talented hand and dates to the 19th...