Att. to George Gower
Portrait of Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603) ('The Hampden Portrait'), c.1563-7
This outstanding portrait, previously handled by Philip Mould & Company in 2007, is the earliest surviving full-length likeness of Queen Elizabeth I and was painted in the mid-1560s. As with so many Tudor royal portraits, the Hampden picture is a feast of symbolism. In the background to the right we see flowers and ripened fruit, such as an open pomegranate, and peas about to burst out from their pod, all of which are obvious symbols to the Queen’s ability to bear children. The bejewelled gold hanging backdrop may well be one of the 'Tappettes embraudered with riche worke fret with pearles and stones', that are known to have hung in the chapel at The Field of Cloth of Gold, an extravagant summit held between Henry VIII and Francis I in France in 1520. The portrait was intended to remind the Tudor viewer of Elizabeth’s past lineage whilst also looking ahead to a prosperous future.
Sir Anthony Van Dyck
Self-Portrait, 1640
This is Anthony Van Dyck’s last self-portrait. It is dated by most scholars to about 1640-1 and therefore done during his final year in England, where he spent more time as an independent artist than anywhere else. It is painted on an intimate scale with great rapidity, and is perhaps the least formal and most self-consciously artistic of his surviving self-portraits.
Mary Beale
Portraits of Samuel Woodforde (1636-1700) and Mary Woodforde (née Norton) (c.1648-1730), c.1667
This exceptional pair of recently discovered portraits can be considered among Mary Beale’s most accomplished works. They depict Samuel and Mary Woodforde, close friends of the Beale family, and were painted around five years before Beale established a professional portrait practice in London.
American School
Portrait of Two Girls, c. 1825-30
This double portrait appears unprecedented in the history of formal American portraiture. As an interracial portrait from ante-bellum America, it is an extraordinary rarity; added to this is the palpable sense of attachment between the subjects, imparted by composition, gesture and symbol.
Anglo-Netherlandish School
Portrait of Arthur Prince of Wales (1486-1502), c. 1500
This exceptionally early English portrait depicts Arthur Prince of Wales, heir to the newly-won throne of his father King Henry VII. Arthur was married to Catherine of Aragon in 1501 and his untimely death the following year had consequences that resonate through British history to the present day. Catherine subsequently married Arthur’s younger brother, the future King Henry VIII, whose want of a male heir ultimately led to their divorce and England’s break with Rome which initiated the English Reformation. This portrait was most likely in the possession of Catherine and then passed to Henry. It is recorded in an early Tudor Royal inventory as no.32 ‘Item oone table with the picture of Prince Aurthure’.
Augustus Edwin John
The Sisters, 1937
This double portrait was painted by Augustus John in Jamaica in 1937 and is one of a series of works depicting local residents. Until recently the portrait had lost its original title which, combined with the recent discovery of an old photograph in a John family album showing the two young women, places it within a fascinating new context.
Marcus Gheeraerts II
Portrait of the Three Egerton Sisters, 1601-2
This is one of the earliest instances in English art of siblings portrayed in such an affectionate manner, and can be compared to Marcus Gheeraerts’ very similar portrait ‘Barbara Gamage with Six Children’ [Penshurst Place], in which the two children on the right follow an identical pose to that seen here.
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500 Years of British Art