Live Auction 21052Ombersley Court: The Collection of Lord and Lady Sandys
SIR GODFREY KNELLER (LÜBECK 1646-1723 LONDON)
Lot 182

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

Closed29 November 2023

Price Realised

GBP 4,788

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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.

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

Specialist note

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).