Live Auction 16722The Collection of Peggy and David Rockefeller: English & European Furniture, Ceramics and Decorations, Part II
English School, 18th Century
Lot 614

English School, 18th Century

Portrait of a lady, traditionally identified as Penelope Howard, half-length, holding a pet bird

Closed10 May 2018

Price Realised

USD 20,000

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English School, 18th Century
Portrait of a lady, traditionally identified as Penelope Howard, half-length, holding a pet bird
oil on canvas
29 ¼ x 24 ¼ in. (74.3 x 61.4 cm.)

with Needham's Antiques, New York, where acquired in 1946 by Peggy and David Rockefeller, as 'Gainsborough'.

Specialist note

In the preface to the 1984 volume of the European collection, David Rockefeller quipped that when he and Peggy acquired this painting it was "thought to have been an early Gainsborough" but that he suspected "it never saw his brush!" (op. cit.).