Barbara Villiers, later Duchess of Cleveland (1640–1709)

Artist Sir Peter Lely and Studio Dutch, 1618–1680, active in England circa 1643–1680

Datecirca 1662–1665

MediumOil on canvas

Dimensions50 x 40 in. (127 x 101.6 cm)
Frame: 54 3/4 x 44 3/8 x 2 3/4 in. (139.1 x 112.7 x 7 cm)

ClassificationsPaintings

Credit LineGift of the Van Diemen - Lilienfeld Galleries and the Dalzell Hatfield Galleries in memory of William R. Valentiner

Object numberG.59.18.1

On View

Not on view

ProvenanceCreated circa 1662–65, England; possibly collection of the sitter, Barbara Villiers, Duchess of Cleveland (1640–1709); to her daughter Anne Lennard, Countess of Sussex (née Lady Anne Palmer, later Lady Anne Fitzroy; 1661–1721/22); by descent to Sir Thomas Barrett-Lennard, 1st Baronet Belhus (1762–1857); by descent to Sir Thomas Barrett-Lennard, 3rd Baronet (1853–1923), Belhus, Aveley, Essex, England [1]; [his sale, Alfred Savill & Sons, London, May 15, 1923, no. 911, as Sir Peter Lely]; [Leggatt Bros, London] [2]. [Scott & Fowles, New York, inv. no. 597] [3]. [Van Diemen-Lilienfeld Galleries, New York, and Dalzell Hatfield Galleries, Los Angeles]; given to NCMA, 1959.

[1] Sir Thomas had no children, and when he died in 1923 the bulk of the estate was sold and the rest passed to his brother Richard, the 4th Baronet. The estate was requisitioned during WWII, suffered some bomb damage, and was demolished in 1957. The painting was lent long-term to the Museum and Art Gallery, Birmingham, England. Noted in “Catalogue (with notes) of the Collection of Paintings in Oil and Water Colours, by Living and Deceased Artists,” (Birmingham: Osborne and Son ‘Borough’ Works, 1888), no. 191, as by Sir Peter Lely. Page 24 of this catalogue further notes that “The collection of pictures belonging to Sir Thomas Barrett Lennard, Bart., of Belhus, Essex has been continually in the possession of his family, and the names of the persons and artists handed down from generation to generation; several of the portraits, notably those of the Duchess of Cleveland and her family, came to the Lennards from the marriage of Lady Ann Fitzroy (her daughter), with the Earl of Sussex.” This is also mentioned in Thomas Barrett-Lennard, “An Account of the Families of Lennard and Barrett. Compiled Largely from Original Documents.” (Printed for Private Circulation, 1908), 300.
[2] Leggatt Bros. purchase at Belhus sale noted in annotated version of the auction catalogue at the Getty Research Institute (see object file).
[3] Scott & Fowles operated from 1904-1946. Previous ownership by Scott & Fowles noted by Van Diemen-Lilienfeld Galleries at time of donation to NCMA.
Published ReferencesCatalogue (with notes) of the Collection of Paintings in Oil and Water Colours, by Living and Deceased Artists (Birmingham: Osborne and Son ‘Borough’ Works,” 1888), no. 191, as by Sir Peter Lely.

Thomas Barrett-Lennard, An Account of the Families of Lennard and Barrett. Compiled Largely from Original Documents. (Printed for Private Circulation, 1908), 300, 593.

"'Belhus,' Aveley, Essex. A Catalogue of the Contents of the XVIth Century Mansion..." (auction catalogue) (London: Alfred Savill & Sons, May 8–17, 1923), lot 911, as Sir Peter Lely (this lot May 15).

"Gifts Presented to the North Carolina Museum of Art in Memory of W. R. Valentiner," North Carolina Museum of Art Bulletin 3 (1959), listed 44.

John Hayes, British Paintings of the Sixteenth through Nineteenth Centuries, The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue (Cambridge University Press, n.d.), mentioned 164.

Masterpieces of Art: In Memory of William R. Valentiner, 1880-1958 (exhibition catalogue) (Raleigh: North Carolina Museum of Art, 1959), cat. no. 97, illus. (b-w) 159, fig. 97.

British Paintings to 1900: Catalogue of Paintings, Vol. 2, 2nd ed. (Raleigh: North Carolina Museum of Art, 1969), no. 95, illus. (b-w).
Exhibition HistoryRaleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, "Masterpieces of Art: In Memory of William R. Valentiner, 1880-1958," April 6-May 7, 1959, cat. no. 97, illus. (b-w).

Raleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, “History and Mystery: Discoveries in the NCMA British Collection,” August 6, 2016–June 25, 2017. Object Rights Statement

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