Old Masters Day Sale
Old Masters Day Sale
Sir Peter Lely
Portrait of Elizabeth Capel, Countess of Carnarvon (1633-1678), with a guitar
Lot Closed
July 8, 01:37 PM GMT
Estimate
50,000 - 70,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
Sir Peter Lely
Soest 1618 - 1680 London
Portrait of Elizabeth Capel, Countess of Carnarvon (1633-1678), with a guitar
inscribed, lower left: LADY ELIZABETH / CAPEL DAUGHTER / TO ARTHUR LORD / CAPEL / WIFE TO / CHARLES EARL OF / CARNARVAN
oil on canvas, held in a carved and gilded Sunderland frame
unframed: 125.3 x 102.5 cm.; 49 ½ x 40 ¼ in.
framed: 153 x 131 cm.; 60¼ x 51⅝ in.
Almost certainly originally at Cassiobury Park, Hertfordshire, the seat of the sitter's brother, Arthur Capel, 1st Earl of Essex (1632-1693), as part of a celebrated group of family portraits by Lely, all framed en suite;
Probably by descent to the Earl of Essex's daughter (and the sitter's niece), Lady Anne Capel, who, in 1683, married Charles Howard, 3rd Earl of Carlisle (c. 1669-1738);
Thence by descent until at least 1904, when the painting was recorded hanging at Naworth Castle, Cumbria, in the collection of George Howard, 9th Earl of Carlisle (1843-1911);
Probably by descent to his son, Charles Howard, 10th Earl of Carlisle (1867-1912), who inherited Naworth Castle in 1911, and thence by descent;
Private collection, England, until acquired in 2019.
Probably by descent to the Earl of Essex's daughter (and the sitter's niece), Lady Anne Capel, who, in 1683, married Charles Howard, 3rd Earl of Carlisle (c. 1669-1738);
Thence by descent until at least 1904, when the painting was recorded hanging at Naworth Castle, Cumbria, in the collection of George Howard, 9th Earl of Carlisle (1843-1911);
Probably by descent to his son, Charles Howard, 10th Earl of Carlisle (1867-1912), who inherited Naworth Castle in 1911, and thence by descent;
Private collection, England, until acquired in 2019.
List of the Pictures now at Naworth Castle extracted from the Printed Catalogue of Pictures at CASTLE HOWARD and NAWORTH compiled by LORD HAWKESBURY and annotated and corrected by THE NINTH Earl of CARLISLE, 1904, p. 59, no. 29 (described as ‘¾ seated; her head resting on her right hand, and she holds a lute in her left. Dressed in a gold brocaded gown with wide blue sleeves’).