Roy Precious - Antiques & Fine Art has dated this piece to the Before 1700 period.
Painted, most likely, on the occasion of his second marriage on February 2nd 1680, Sir William wears his own hair rather than the fashionable periwig. His cravat is worn 'a la Steinkirk'.
The column in the background is not just an item of decoration, it symbolises Sir William being the pillar of the House of Eliot.
His first wife was Elizabeth Scott, and on her death he married Margaret Murray in 1680 at the age of 57. The union resulted in five children of whom Sir Gilbert Eliot (1680-1764) became the 3rd baronet.
A later Latin inscription on the base of the column tells the reader that Sir William confidentally awaits Christ's glorious Second Coming and that he died on the First Sunday in Advent in 1697 at the age of 74.
This inscription had earlier been painted higher up the column, but in a change of mind it was painted over; it can still be faintly seen.
SIR GODFREY KNELLER (1646-1723) was the most distinguished painter of baroque portraits in England.
Born in Lubeck, he trained with Bol and Rembrandt, coming to London in 1676.
By 1679 he had painted the King and remained the most famous and successful portrait painter in England until his death.
In 1688 he was made Principal Painter to the King and was knighted in 1692 and a made a baronet in 1715.
His style had a profound influence on British portraiture and a large number of artists, some very talented in their own right, emulated his fashionable style.
SIZE: canvas 50 x 40.5 inches.
PROVENANCE: Lord Courthope, Whiligh, Wadhurst, East Sussex;
the Honourable Daphne Courthope;
her second cousin John Hardcastle;
thence by descent.
(George Loyd Courthope, 1st Baron Courthope P.C; M.C. was a member of a family that had been settled at Whiligh in Sussex for many centuries. Image 5 shows Whiligh.)
Roy Precious - Antiques & Fine Art has dated this piece to the Before 1700 period.
Roy and nadine precious: specialists in portraiture from the 16th to the 20th century. Established in 1972.
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Sold....portrait of Sir William Eliot C. 1680; Circle of Kneller
