Sir Anthony van Dyck

Edward Harman, Clay Hill, Enfield;

His sale, London, Christie's, 27 May 1847, lot 225, for 2 guineas to Bulwer (as 'Countess of Derby');

William Henry Lytton Earle Bulwer, 1st Baron Dalling and Bulwer (1801–72);

Thence by inheritance to Colonel E. A. Bulwer, Bourne House, Weeford, Lichfield;

By whom sold, London, Christie's, 1 July 1921, lot 19, for 245 guineas to Gooden and Fox (as 'Countess of Pembroke');

With Gooden and Fox, London;

Sir Sidney Herbert, 1st Bt. (1890–1939);

His posthumous sale, London, Christie's, 28 July 1939, lot 44, for 1,050 guineas to Speelman and Agnew (as 'Countess of Pembroke');

With Thomas Agnew & Sons Ltd., London, by 1968 (inv. no. 10403), by whom sold to

William Urwick Goodbody (1883–1949), Invergarry House, Invernesshire;

Thence by inheritance to his daughter, Mrs T. E. Nelson, Achnacloich, Connel, Argyllshire.

King's Lynn, Fermoy Art Gallery, Exhibition of pictures by Sir Anthony van Dyck, 1599–1641, 27 July – 10 August 1963, no. 28;

London, Thomas Agnew & Sons Ltd., Sir Anthony van Dyck, a loan exhibition of pictures and sketches principally from private collections, 7 November – 7 December 1968, no. 59 (as 'Elizabeth Cecil, Countess of Devonshire'; lent by Mrs J. Y. Nelson).

T. Borenius, 'Addenda to the Work of Van Dyck', in The Burlington Magazine, vol. LXXIX, 1941, pp. 200–03;

E. Larsen, The paintings of Anthony van Dyck, Freren 1988, vol. II, pp. 329–30, cat. no. 839, reproduced p. 330 (as 'Elizabeth, Countess of Devonshire');

O. Millar, in S. J. Barnes et al., Van Dyck. A complete catalogue of the paintings, New Haven and London 2004, p. 625, cat. no. IV.259, reproduced.

The following condition report is provided by Sarah Walden who is an external specialist and not an employee of Sotheby's: Sir Anthony Van Dyck. Portrait of a Lady. This painting has a lining and stretcher dating probably from the turn of the last century. The firm surface might perhaps suggest that an older lining had been retained as well, as was sometimes the case. However there is no sign of accidental damage. There have undoubtedly been several restorations over time, perhaps mainly in the mid twentieth century. The present layers of varnish are opaque under ultra violet light, but there is little evident overpaint in the figure, although one pentiment of an extended forefinger can be seen to have been touched out some time ago, with carefully added craquelure. The base edge may also have been slightly more recently touched in. The exquisite delicacy of the original modelling of the hands and of the chest, with the intricate reflections of the pearl necklace, of the subtlety and discretion in the expression of the face not to mention the vivid play of light and shade in the hair, can still be glimpsed although somewhat reduced by past cleaning. Much of the rich brushwork of the drapery remains however. This report was not done under laboratory conditions.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

This is a late work, painted in London towards the end of his life, by Europe's leading portrait painter, Sir Anthony van Dyck.

Sir Oliver Millar dated this elegant portrait ‘towards the end of Van Dyck’s time in London’ around 1640–41. The sitter betrays a sober dignity that is typical of Van Dyck’s late female portraiture. The softness of touch and tonality of her features and the deft liveliness of the curls of her hair, bejewelled corset and sleeves are characteristic of the artist’s last period. Van Dyck painted with an increasing delicacy towards the end of his career that is somewhat removed from the vigorous Rubensian style of his early years in Antwerp. It was during these last years in London, having arrived in 1632 as ‘Principalle Paynter in Ordinaire’ to King Charles I, that Van Dyck established himself as the finest portraitist in Europe and produced some of his most powerful and inventive work. His royal portraits from the period are challenged only by those of Velázquez at the court of Philip IV of Spain. He revolutionised portraiture in England with his brilliant draftsmanship, masterly composition and the subtlety of modelling. Here, as in much of his female portraiture from the final years, he lends his presumably noble sitter a wonderful sense of modesty, dignity and grace.

The sitter has been previously identified as the Countess of Derby, the Countess of Pembroke and as Elizabeth Cecil, Countess of Devonshire. None of these identifications have proved convincing, with Millar pouring cold water on the last of the three in the 2004 catalogue raisonné.

The collection put together by William Urwick Goodbody (1883–1949) included some masterpices of British portraiture, including Van Dyck’s famous portrait of Sir Thomas Killigrew (Tate Britain) and Sir Thomas Lawrence’s ravishing 1821 portrait of the Duke of Wellington.¹ Goodbody made his fortune in the United States before settling at Invergarry House in Invernesshire.

 

1. Sold London, Christie’s, 22 November 2006, lot 32.