Portrait of a Lady of the Graves Family C.1695; Attributed to Thomas Murray (1663-1734)

This item represents an opportunity to purchase an item with an interesting provenance, from one of England’s oldest families. The Graves family had their seat at Mickleton Manor and Kiftgate Court, Gloucestershire. This work formed part of a collection of family pictures and heirlooms of Sidney Graves Hamilton (1855-1916), having descended to him from the Graves family of Mickleton, prominent landowners in the country since the 16th century. The portrait hung in the ante-room at Kiftsgate Court, alongside other family portraits by artists such as Gainsborough, before it was sold in 1983 along with 15 other family portraits.

The Graves family is one of the most ancient in England. The family is believed to have used the name De Grava in Bordeaux, Gascony, and came to England with the Norman army. Settling in Yorkshire the name underwent several changes - De Grevis, De Greves, Greve, Grave, Greaves, Greeves, and Graves. John de Grevis was in the army of King John. The first recorded family seat was known as Greves or Greaves (parish of Beeley, northern Derbyshire) as early as the reign of Henry III (1216-1272). Many of the descendants of the different branches of the family went, from time to time, to London and other cities in Great Britain, and to the Colonies, and notably to the American Colonies, between 1629 and 1649.

Mickleton Manor was originally owned by Eynsham Abbey up to the Dissolution, before it reverted to the Crown. In 1591 the whole manor was sold freehold in quick succession to Lord Lumley, then Sir Edward Grevill and then Edward Fisher. The Fishers improved the property by enclosing two large open fields but also ran into severe financial difficulties and sold the manor to Richard Graves (1610-1669) in 1656. Richard was fourth generation. He amassed a fortune in the practice of law during the Civil Wars and Interregnum. Along with Mickleton Manor (see photo) he also purchased the manors of Aston and Weston in Gloucestershire in the same year. Richard had 19 children; six sons, of whom only one survived, and 13 daughters.

A descendant of Richard was Sidney Graves Hamilton who built Kiftsgate Court, only a few miles from Mickleton Manor, between 1887 and 1891. Our portrait hung in the ante-room here, as per an old label on the reverse (see photo).

This exquisite work is an accomplished example of the type of portrait in vogue in late 17th century England. The sumptuous and costly clothing and the large jewels emphasise the fact that this lady is a paragon of the wealthy and privileged society that she belonged to. The painting abounds with ingenious flourishes and demonstrations of the painter's skill. A remarkable care is exercised in rendering of the flesh and the treatment of the drapery, with its delicate folds and crisp white fabric, is utterly sumptuous. There is a virtuoso in the art of conveying the texture of the fabrics. The fabrics and the flesh are defined with lightness and dexterity. Murray’s style is immediately evident... the clear fresh palette, bright eyes, and rendering is equisite.

Presented in a fine antique carved and gilded frame.

Thomas Murray (1663-1734) was thought to be of Scottish origins. He initially studied with one of the De Critz family and then under John Riley, whom he also assisted. He established his own practice in the 1680’s and swiftly became a very successful painter amongst the clergy and gentry of the day. When Riley Died in 1691, he took over his studio. In 1703, he painted Queen Anne for the Society of the Middle Temple in London. The Rev, James Dalloway accounted that Murray “was remarkable for his personal beauty and for the elegance of his manner.” His portraiture retains an individual style and easily recognised but his earlier work is similar to John Closterman, who was a fellow pupil, and many consider this period to be his finest.

Murray invested wisely in property and when he died in 1735, he left around £40

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