Marquess of Hertford
ENGLISH SCHOOL 1610
Ragley portrait – A Gentleman Ragley portrait – A Lady
oil on canvas
22 x 18 inches
Price: Sold
Provenance: Marquess of Hertford at Ragley Hall
This remarkable pair of oval portraits, dating from around 1610, comes from the collection of the Marquess of Hertford at Ragley Hall. Each period in Ragley’s history has made its mark on the family and each Marquess has made different contributions to the Hertford art collection. The most notable contributor was Richard, the 4th Marquess, who lived his entire life in Paris and devoted his life and income to buying pictures to add to his collection. He did not marry and left everything - except Ragley and Conway Castle - to his illegitimate son Richard Wallace, whose widow bequeathed the entire collection to the nation.
The Wallace Collection, established in 1897, must now be regarded as one of the most important museums of its kind in the world. The museum's collection numbers nearly 5,500 objects and is best known for its quality and breadth of eighteenth-century French paintings, Sèvres porcelain and French furniture.
The Collection also displays paintings by Titian, Rembrant, Rubens, Van Dyck, Canaletto, Boucher, de Hooch, Teniers, Hals, Murillo, Velazquez, Gainsborough, Reynolds, Watteau, Guardi and others. The museum also holds a fine collection of arms and armour, featuring both European and Oriental objects, as well as displays of gold boxes, miniatures, sculpture and medieval and Renaissance works of art such as majolica, glass, bronzes and enamels.
Unaltered since 1890, the Wallace Collection reflects the tastes of five generations of the family who assembled it. A further private collection has been maintained and developed at Ragley which includes further significant works of art. The present pair of portraits come from this private family collection.