Studio of Sir Godfrey Kneller Art

This striking portrait, presented by Titan Fine Art, depicts the celebrated seventeenth century court beauty, Mary Sackville (née Compton), Countess of Dorset (1669-1691) wearing a gold decollete dress and ermine-trimmed cloak. Painted circa 1690, its extravagant grand manner is distinctive of Kneller’s work from this period, where the use of full-length swaggering poses and a heightened sense of movement and physical presence were employed. Several versions exist particularly as she was a renowned court beauty. Images of well-known society individuals were in demand and the portrait studios thereby created several duplicates, and on occasion, many variations of them. One such example is a painting, signed by Kneller, at Knole Park in Kent, home of the sitter and her husband (see photo), and is an almost full duplicate of our painting. The Countess was Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Mary II and one of the Hampton Court Beauties, painted by Sir Godfrey Kneller for Queen Mary. Her father was James Compton, 3rd Earl of Northampton, and her mother was Mary Noel, daughter of Baptist Noel, 3rd Viscount Campden. In 1685 she married Charles Sackville, 6th Earl of Dorset and 1st Earl of Middlesex (died 1706) and the couple lived at their main residence Copt Hall, Waltham Abbey, Essex. In 1687 the couple’s only son, Lionel Cranfield Sackville, was born. He became, on his father’s death, seventh Earl of Dorset and later first Duke. As a child he was a favourite with the brusque and taciturn King (William). Charles and Mary also had one daughter, Lady Mary Sackville (1688 – 1705), who married Henry Somerset, 2nd Duke of Beaufort. Charles was born during the Civil War, and was the son of Richard Sackville, 5th Earl of Dorset (1622–1677) and Lady Frances Cranfield, sister and heiress of the 3rd Earl of Middlesex, to whose estates he succeeded in 1674, being created Baron Cranfield, of Cranfield in the County of Middlesex, and Earl of Middlesex in 1675. Three years later, on the death of his father in 1677, he became 6th Earl of Dorset and inherited Knole. Thus began the assembly at Copt Hall (and later, at Knole) of the outstanding collection of 17th-century furniture, textiles and portraits that compensated for the losses of the Civil War and that are now on public display. His first wife, Dowager Countess of Falmouth, died during childbirth, and two years later he went to France for his health embarked on a string of casual affairs and resisted pressure from his mother, Frances, to get married again - 'I doe pasionatly Long to see you fixte,' she wrote to him. Charles Sackville had benefited from his friendship with Charles II. In 1668 he had been made a Groom of the Bedchamber, and in 1669/70 he had been sent to France as ambassador to the Court of Louis XIV, but his real moment came in January 1689, when he supported the accession to the throne of King William II and his wife Queen Mary. As a reward, Charles was appointed Lord Chamberlain of the King's Household, in which capacity he supervised the domestic affairs of the monarch, ordering new keys for Queen Mary's apartments in Whitehall, ensuring that the Speaker...

This exquisite work formed part of the collection of the Gregory family, descendants of the sitter, at their immensely impressive home Harlaxton Manor, Grantham. Our portrait, and t...

This exquisite work was once at the moated Elizabethan manor Badmondisfield Hall, thought to have been built by Sir George Somerset (died 1559) when he was in possession (the estate itself is much older and was recorded in the Domesday Book as a substantial royal manor) The sitter in this exquisite large-scale portrait is John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, 1st Prince of Mindelheim, 1st Count of Nellenburg, Prince of the Holy Roman Empire. Churchill was one of the greatest military commanders in history, and was a statesman whose career spanned the reigns of five monarchs. As de facto leader of Allied forces in the Low Countries, his victories at Blenheim (1704), Ramillies (1706), Oudenarde (1708), and Malplaquet (1709), ensured his place in history as one of Europe's great generals. From a gentry family, he served first as a page at the court of the House of Stuart under James, Duke of York, through the 1670s and early 1680s, earning military and political advancement through his courage and diplomatic skill. Painted circa 1700, portrayed in armour and a magnificent crimson and ermine trimmed cloak, holding a baton of command, his heroic visage suitably reflects his wealth and status; in the England of the days of his youth, soldiering was a profession. The gold badge of the Most Noble Order of the Garter is worn suspended from a small gold link from the blue sash at the right hip (sometimes known as "the Lesser George") – it shows St. George the Martyr on horseback slaying a dragon. This order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348 is the most senior order of knighthood in the British honours system, and is dedicated to the image and arms of Saint George, England's patron saint. Appointments are made at the Sovereign's sole discretion and membership of the Order is limited to the Sovereign, the Prince of Wales, and no more than 24 living members, or Companions. The overriding sense of the painting is motion, and even with his dignified restraint, the figure of the Duke raising his baton of command echoes the swirling drama of the battlefield in the background – a common setting in portraits for important sitters at the time. It is not hard to understand why everyone and anyone who was of some standing in society commissioned Kneller for their portrait. Around 1702 Kneller and his studio painted more than one variant of this portrait - as was common at the time – the key differences are in the robe and the background. One version was in the possession of the Hudson’s Bay Company (Marlborough was Governor of the firm) and was exhibited in London in 1934 at Chesterfield House. There is a close version attributed to Michael Dahl (c.1659-1743) circa 1702 in the National Army Museum London (NAM Accession Number 2000-06-146-1) believed to have been acquired at Christies London 6 June 2000 (lot 13, for £24,675). Our version appears to be unique in that it appears to be the only version with the particular placement of the robe. Born in 1650, John Churchill was the second but oldest surviving son of Sir Winston Churchill (1620–1688) of Glanvilles Wootton, Dorset and Elizabeth Drake, whose family came from Ash, in Devon. In 1688 John Churchill supported William III when William invaded and took the throne from James II. For his loyalty, William elevated John from the lowest rank of the peerage to that of Earl of Marlborough. However, John was a key player in the military conspiracy that led to James being deposed during the Glorious Revolution. Persistent charges of Jacobitism led to his fall from office and temporary imprisonment in the Tower of London. William recognised his abilities by appointing him as his deputy in Flanders before the War of the Spanish Succession in 1701 but it was not until the accession of Queen Anne in 1702, he secured his fame and fortune. Marriage to Sarah Jennings and her relationship with Anne ensured Marlborough's rise, first to the Captain-Generalcy of British forces, then to a dukedom. His wife's stormy relationship with the Queen, and her subsequent dismissal from court, was central to his own fall. Incurring Anne's disfavour, and caught between Tory and Whig factions, Marlborough was forced from office and went into self-imposed exile. He returned to favour with the accession of George I to the British throne in 1714, but a stroke in 1716 ended his active career. Marlborough's leadership of the Allied armies from 1701 to 1710 consolidated Britain's emergence as a front-rank power, while his ability to maintain unity demonstrated his diplomatic skills. He is often remembered by military historians as much for his organisational and logistic skills as tactical abilities. However, he was also instrumental in moving from the siege warfare that dominated the Nine Years' War, arguing one battle was worth ten sieges. Blenheim Palace is a monumental country house in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England (see photo). It is the principal residence of the Dukes of Marlborough, and the only non-royal, non-episcopal country house in England to hold the title of palace. The palace, one of England's largest houses, was built between 1705 and 1722, and designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987. The palace is named for the 1704 Battle of Blenheim, and thus ultimately after Blindheim (also known as Blenheim) in Bavaria. It was originally intended to be a reward to John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough for his military triumphs against the French and Bavarians in the War of the Spanish Succession, culminating in the Battle of Blenheim. The land was given as a gift, and construction began in 1705, with some financial support from Queen Anne. The project soon became the subject of political infighting, with the Crown cancelling further financial support in 1712, Marlborough's three-year voluntary exile to the Continent, the fall from influence of his duchy and lasting damage to the reputation of the architect Sir John Vanbrugh...

This magnificent large scale portrait is a repetition from Kneller’s studio of which the prototype was amongst the series of “beauties” at Hampton Court. It’s large scale and extrav...