$6,300
Estimate: $6,000 - $10,000
Auction: July 18, 2023 1:00 PM EDT
Signed and dated 'GKneller. 1715' center left; also signed, dated and inscribed 'G. Kneller Pinx/Ad. 1715' bottom left; also identified as 'Elizabeth/Daughter of Roger Pope Esqre/of Wolstaston Co. Salop/Wife of Wm Whitmore/Esq.- of. Apley./Buried at Stockholm/oct. 3rd 1735.' bottom right, oil on canvas
50 x 40 in. (127 x 101.6cm)
Provenance
Private Collection, Main Line, Philadelphia.
Note
Sir Godfrey Kneller was the leading portraitist in England from the late 17th through the early 18th century. Born in Germany, he studied with Ferdinand Bol in Amsterdam before settling in England in the 1670s. In addition to being a court painter–Kneller was appointed Principal Painter in Ordinary–he was a heralded society painter, as seen in the present painting: a three-quarter length portrait of a seated Elizabeth Whitmore, with landscape beyond. Elizabeth was the daughter of Roger Pope, who served with James II’s Parliament, and was the wife of William Whitmore, whose family were land owners in Apley, Shropshire beginning in 1582. Kneller also painted portraits of other members of the Whitmore family, including Mary Whitmore, Frances Whitmore, Lady Middleton, and the aforementioned William Whitmore of Apley, and he was considered the premier portrait painter in England following the passing of Sir Peter Lely in 1680.