Sir Godfrey Kneller, Bt.

three quarter length, standing wearing a red coat and a brown cloak, a landscape beyond

By family descent to George Rushout 3rd Baron Northwick (1771-1857), Northwick Park, Gloucestershire;
by descent to Elizabeth, Baroness Northwick (1832-1912) his widow;
by descent to her grandson Captain E.G. Spencer Churchill, Northwick Park, Gloucestershire;
His sale, Christie's London, 25th June 1965, lot 56 (bt. 140. gns);
Anonymous sale, Christie's London, 11th June 1999, lot 27 (bt. £6,500);
Anonymous sale, Bonham's San Francisco, 18th May 2004, lot 45

A Catalogue of Pictures, Works of Art, etc., at Northwick Park, 1864, no. 287;
T. Borenius, A Catalogue of Pictures at Northwick Park, 1921, no. 335;
J.D. Stewart, Sir Godfrey Kneller, 1983, p. 127, no. 628

STRUCTURE The canvas has been lined PAINT SURFACE The canvas appears to be in excellent condition. ULTRAVIOLET Ultraviolet light reveals very minor scattered re-touching, particularly to the landscape. There has also been some re-touching to a very small area to the lower centre of the canvas and to the pommel of the sword and the sitter's cuff. FRAME Held in a Sunderland style carved gilt wood frame.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The sitter was the fourth son of Sir James Rushout, 1st Bt. (1644-1698) of Milnst-Maylards, Essex and his wife, Alice, daughter and heiress of Edward Pitt, of Harrow on the Hill, and the widow of Edward Palmer. His grandfather, a Flemish merchant, had settled in England in the early seventeenth century and was naturalised in 1634. His father purchased an estate near Evesham in the 1640s and represented that borough in two parliaments.

Rushout was educated at Eton College and became a Captain in the Horse Guards for a two year period from 1710. He succeeded his nephew Sir James Rushout as fourth baronet on the 21st September 1711, but by then the family seat of a manor at Maylards had passed out of the family.

This portrait was painted in 1716 when then Kneller was at the peak of his career. The year before, George I had appointed him Principal Painter in Ordinary and had augmented the distinction by conferring on him a baronetcy. Kneller also presided over the country's first Academy of painting and drawing. At this time Rushout had just embarked upon a political career having resigned his commission in the Blues a year earlier. Rushout was M.P. for Malmesbury from 1713-1722 and then for Evesham from 1722-1768 and later became Father of the House of Commons. In 1742 he was chosen as one of the committee of secrecy appointed to inquire into Walpole's conduct during the last ten years of his ministry. Clearly considered honorable and trustworthy, a year later Rushout accepted office as a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury and in 1743 was promoted to the very lucrative post of Treasurer of the navy. He retired at the dissolution of 1768. In 1729 Rushout had married Anne (d. 1766), the sixth daughter of George Compton, 4^th Earl of Northampton. They had one son John who also became M.P. for Evesham and two daughters.