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TC2001-270
Portrait of a Woman, Said to be a Member of the Howard Family (The Honorable Mary Howard?)
TC2001-270

Portrait of a Woman, Said to be a Member of the Howard Family (The Honorable Mary Howard?)

DatePossibly 1675-1680
After work by Sir Peter Lely (1618-1680)
OriginEngland
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsUnframed: 50 x 40 1/2in. (127 x 102.9cm) and Framed: 57 3/4 x 48 1/2 x 2 3/4in.
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
Object number1936-132
DescriptionAn al fresco full-length portrait of a reclining woman resting her proper L elbow on a ledge with a shepherd's crook in the curve of her arm, her proper R arm extended to feed a sheep at the far edge of the picture. She wears "undress," i.e., a russet-colored wrapper with slashed and decoratively pinned sleeves, pinned at the bodice, over a white chemise. A blue sash is draped behind her and rests partly in her lap. At upper left, a landscape vista including a sunrise (or sunset) is visible beyond carefully delineated oak leaves immediately behind the subject.

The 4 1/2-inch carved and gilded panel-style frame appears to be a period (or slightly later) replacement. In part, it is thought to be non-original because it was routed out in the past (though this could have been occasioned by past conservation treatments that slightly expanded the stretcher dimensions). The frame has two plain reserves (or "mirrors") on each of its members, most of the remaining surfaces being covered with shallow relief carving.



InscribedNo original markings found.

A printed label on the back of the frame reads, in upper and lower case capitals, "HON: ble MARY HOWARD". However, the name is scratched out in pencil and, above it, in pencil but now legible only under IR, is "name changed." (Also note that the frame was routed out at some point in the past and is not believed original to the painting.) The label was in the center of the top frame member at one point, but the painting does not fit the frame in this orientation, and the frame has now been flipped; thus, the label appears in the center of the lower member.
ProvenanceAt the time of acquisition, Spink & Son, Ltd. ("Vendor") claimed to be acting as agent for Margaret, Countess of Suffolk and Berkshire, in selling this painting, also claiming that it had hung at Charlton Park, Wiltshire, ever since it was executed. That history has not yet been verified.