Studio of Sir Godfrey Kneller (German/British, 1646-1723)
"Portrait of a Nobleman," oil on canvas, mounted on oval board, three-quarter portrait of a nobleman, no signature found; in heavy carved wood and gilt over gesso frame, overall 37 ¾"x 32 ¾". Sitter is possibly one of members of Kit-Kat Club. Old paper label "Rushworth & Son / Carvers & Gilders / Sadler Street / Durham / Every description of Frame made to Order / Oil Paintings Cleaned... and Restored by Special Process..." attached on the back top, along with previous collector's paper label with coat-of-arms of ancient noble Bond family and another later paper label with hand written "George I Kneller" on the back. Provenance: private collection of a prominent family, Pittsburgh, PA.
Sir Godfrey Kneller, 1st Baronet (born Gottfried Kniller; 8 August 1646 ? 19 October 1723) was the leading portrait painter in England during the late 17th and early 18th centuries, and was court painter to English and British monarchs from Charles II to George I. His major works include The Chinese Convert (1687; Royal Collection, London); a series of four portraits of Isaac Newton painted at various junctures of the latter's life; a series of ten reigning European monarchs, including King Louis XIV of France; over 40 "Kit-cat portraits" of members of the Kit-Cat Club; and ten "beauties" of the court of William III, to match a similar series of ten beauties of the court of Charles II painted by his predecessor as court painter, Sir Peter Lely.
Bond Family coat-of-arms with a crest with a Demi-Pegasus Az., Winged And Semée Of Estoiles Or. Bond is a descriptive European name, in Bond family history, the family seat (feudal home) was in Somerset, where the family was granted lands by Duke William of Normandy. European variations include Bondar, Bonds, Bondt, Bont, Bontebal, Bontedoe, Bonterard, Bontemps, and Bundy, with many branches in Holland. In American Bond genealogy, the first immigrant arrived in Philadelphia in 1627. The Bond motto "non sufficit orbis" means "the world is not enough", which is also the name of a James Bond movie.
Mr. Thomas Rushworth of 61 Saddler Street, was a son of Timothy Rushworth, a Yorkshire-born carver and gilder who arrived in Durham fifty years before, he was born in the city in 1851 and, by the 1890s, had become not only an authority on art but also a really enterprising tradesman.
Condition: Good, old inpainting on forehead over the left eyebrow, and two small areas of inpainting on the overcoat collar and in the field to the right, otherwise evenly fluorescent under UV light; possibly, portrait canvas was cut from a standard Kit-Kat size for later framing. Frame of later period, dust, soils and some losses to frame.
View it on
Estimate
Time, Location
Auction House
"Portrait of a Nobleman," oil on canvas, mounted on oval board, three-quarter portrait of a nobleman, no signature found; in heavy carved wood and gilt over gesso frame, overall 37 ¾"x 32 ¾". Sitter is possibly one of members of Kit-Kat Club. Old paper label "Rushworth & Son / Carvers & Gilders / Sadler Street / Durham / Every description of Frame made to Order / Oil Paintings Cleaned... and Restored by Special Process..." attached on the back top, along with previous collector's paper label with coat-of-arms of ancient noble Bond family and another later paper label with hand written "George I Kneller" on the back. Provenance: private collection of a prominent family, Pittsburgh, PA.
Sir Godfrey Kneller, 1st Baronet (born Gottfried Kniller; 8 August 1646 ? 19 October 1723) was the leading portrait painter in England during the late 17th and early 18th centuries, and was court painter to English and British monarchs from Charles II to George I. His major works include The Chinese Convert (1687; Royal Collection, London); a series of four portraits of Isaac Newton painted at various junctures of the latter's life; a series of ten reigning European monarchs, including King Louis XIV of France; over 40 "Kit-cat portraits" of members of the Kit-Cat Club; and ten "beauties" of the court of William III, to match a similar series of ten beauties of the court of Charles II painted by his predecessor as court painter, Sir Peter Lely.
Bond Family coat-of-arms with a crest with a Demi-Pegasus Az., Winged And Semée Of Estoiles Or. Bond is a descriptive European name, in Bond family history, the family seat (feudal home) was in Somerset, where the family was granted lands by Duke William of Normandy. European variations include Bondar, Bonds, Bondt, Bont, Bontebal, Bontedoe, Bonterard, Bontemps, and Bundy, with many branches in Holland. In American Bond genealogy, the first immigrant arrived in Philadelphia in 1627. The Bond motto "non sufficit orbis" means "the world is not enough", which is also the name of a James Bond movie.
Mr. Thomas Rushworth of 61 Saddler Street, was a son of Timothy Rushworth, a Yorkshire-born carver and gilder who arrived in Durham fifty years before, he was born in the city in 1851 and, by the 1890s, had become not only an authority on art but also a really enterprising tradesman.
Condition: Good, old inpainting on forehead over the left eyebrow, and two small areas of inpainting on the overcoat collar and in the field to the right, otherwise evenly fluorescent under UV light; possibly, portrait canvas was cut from a standard Kit-Kat size for later framing. Frame of later period, dust, soils and some losses to frame.
Estimate
Time, Location
Auction House
