Sir Peter Lely

Charles and Mary Beale;
From whom acquired by Edward Lovibond;
By descent to his son Edward Lovibond (1724-1775);
His deceased sale, May 27-28, 1776;
Charles Fairfax Murray;
From whom acquired circa 1885 by Charles Butler (1822-1910), Warren Wood, Hertfordshire;
Thence by descent to Charles H.A. Butler and by descent in the family.

London, Royal Academy, The Age of Charles II, 1960-61, no. 168.

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com , an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This painting is in beautiful condition. The canvas has a glue lining. The paint layer is stable and nicely textured. Both pictures seem to have been treated identically over the years. With this painting, there is less restoration visible under ultraviolet light everywhere, except in his face there are a few small dots which do not address anything other than some small blemishes. To the right of the face in the background and the hair, a slightly darker vertical strip running for a few inches, which has simply been cleaned a little more than the surrounding area; it is not a damage, rather some of the old varnish has been removed. This picture, like its mate, is in beautiful condition and could either be cleaned or could be hung as is.
"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 painting will be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonné of the paintings of Sir Peter Lely, by Diana Dethloff and the late Sir Oliver Millar.

For a discussion of the relationship between the Beale family and Lely, and for the provenance history, please see the note on the preceding lot.

This remarkable portrait depicts the son of Mary Beale, one of the leading Restoration portrait painters, and her husband, Charles. Bartholomew was their second and eldest surviving son.   At the time of the ground-breaking exhibition at the Royal Academy in 1961 (see Exhibited), Sir Oliver Millar was of the opinion that the male sitter was the Beale's younger son, Charles (1660-1714); however, Millar subsequently revised his view that this portrait more likely records Beale's older son, Bartholomew (1656–1709). This new identification follows a greater understanding of the chronology of Lely's work and has resulted in a dating of this work to circa 1670.

Bartholomew Beale was baptized on 12th February 1656 at St Paul's, Convent Garden, and like his elder brother, Charles, was intended to become a portrait painter. He initially studied with the painter Thomas Flatman; however, probably under the influence of the Beale's neighbour, the distinguished physician Dr. Thomas Sydenham, Bartholomew moved away from painting and entered Clare College, Cambridge, in January 1680. Bartholomew settled in Coventry in about 1687 and practised there as a physician until his death in 1698. Towards the end of his life he was to complain that his fees were so small that he could not keep a horse. He was buried in St. Michael's Church, Coventry.

The present portrait is notable for the beauty of its execution and its unusual degree of emotional engagement: it is painted with dashing bravura and the almost full-frontal gaze directed at the viewer is unusual in portraiture of this period and underlines the close relationship between Lely and the Beale family.

The important English frame of circa 1745-50 appears to have been made for this portrait and is en suite with a companion portrait of Alice Beale from the same collection (see preceding lot), as well as another major Lely of the same period, A young man as a shepherd (London, Dulwich Picture Gallery) which was also owned by Edward Lovibond, Jr. and subsequently by Charles Fairfax Murray who presented it to Dulwich College Art Gallery at about the same time that Charles Butler acquired the portraits of Bartholomew and Alice Beale from him.