John Somers, Baron Somers
John Riley1680s
Dulwich Picture Gallery
London, United Kingdom
John Somers (1651-1716), lawyer and Whig politician, as well as a bibliophile and a collector of prints and drawings. The sitter is identified in an inscription on the verso, which suggests that he was painted between 1689, when Somers was knighted, and 1691 when Riley died, when the sitter was between 38 and 40 years of age. Although his costume suggest a date nearer to 1680, and therefore the inscription could have been added on at a later date. John Riley (1646-1691) was an acclaimed English portrait painter. While his early career is obscure, following the death of Lely in 1680 he was celebrated as one of the leading portraitists in the country, rivalled only by Kneller.
- Title: John Somers, Baron Somers
- Creator Lifespan: 1646 - 1691
- Date: 1680s
- Physical Dimensions: w635 x h705 cm
- Type: Painting
- Medium: Oil
- Work Notes: The richest sources for Sir Robert Walpole's activities as a collector are George Vertue's 'Note-books' and the catalogue of the Houghton collection, Aedes Walpolianae, made by his youngest son, Horace Walpole. An inventory of 1736 lists 114 pictures at Houghton, while his houses in London contained many more: 149 in Downing Street, 64 in Grosvenor Street and 78 in Chelsea. After Walpole's death three sales dispersed a collection that was rich in the work of artists favoured by collectors of the period, notably Carlo Maratti, Nicolas Poussin, Guido Reni and van Dyck. The first sale (5-6 May 1748) was disguised under the name of the dealer Robert Bragge (annotated sale cat., Oxford, Bodleian Lib.); the later ones, in 1751 and 1779, were initiated by Robert Walpole's grandson George Walpole, 3rd Earl of Orford (1730-91). Many of the works of art sold in 1779, except family portraits and sculpture, were acquired by Catherine II, Empress of Russia
- Work Nationality: British
- Support: Canvas
- Provenance: Sir Robert Walpole, bef. c. 1726 (inscription on reverse: 'Given to Sir Philip Yorke by the Right/Honble Sr Robt. Walpole Knight of/The most noble order of ye Garter'. This must have been 1726-33 when Yorke became Lord Hardwicke); Sir Phillip Yorke (Lord Hardwicke); by descent; Charles Fairfax Murray; Fairfax Murray Gift, 1911.
- Artist: Riley, John
- Acquisition Method: Fairfax Murray, Charles (Gift, 1911)
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