A member is looking for ideas as to artist attribution and sitter identity regarding this miniature portrait, oil on copper. The sitter wears an unidentified medal and lace-edged collar. Please use the comments section at the bottom of the page to share your ideas.
Valence House Museum has been asked to find more information on this portrait. An inscription on the reverse of the canvas (see below) states that the sitter is Lady Ann Fanshawe (1625-80) and was painted by Mignard in 1660. However, in 1660 Lady Ann would have been 35 years old, and the sitter in this […]
An independent scholar is seeking advice on the practice of the drapery painters Joseph (c.1699-1749) and Alexander (1701-1757) Van Aken/Vanhaecken: From roughly 1725 to 1760 a large majority of British portraits’ clothing & landscapes were supposedly painted by the workshop of Joseph Van Haecken (d. 1749) and his brother Alexander. The link between him and […]
Leeanne Westwood, Curator at Valence House Museum, is researching artist attributions for a recent donation of nine Fanshawe family miniatures, and one loan to the collection. The ten paintings are shown below along with what information as to sitter identity and dating is currently known. To share your thoughts on possible artists, please use the […]
A member is looking for information on an eighteenth-century portraitist called Clifford (forenames unknown), who executed the adjoining painting. “Clifford appears to have been a travelling portrait painter who spent some time in Cornwall and resided for a while in Truro. This portrait (top left, and bottom) shows Francis Jenkins of Truro (1756- 1839). He […]
A network member is seeking assistance in identifying the sitters in this group portrait or the subject matter, and ideas as to artist. “I am researching a portrait which was originally thought to represent Samuel Foote with David Garrick and his wife Eva Maria Veigel, but this identification has now been disproved. There is evidence […]
A query from a private collector, a member of the Understanding British Portraits professional network: This portrait of a young man wearing the Order of the Garter and another medallion showing a bronze portrait relief suspended from a blue ribbon has always been known anecdotally as a portrait of ‘Major Blachford’. However Blachford was not […]
The Grosvenor Museum has recently acquired three late 18th/early 19th century portraits of members of the Bayley family of Nantwich, Cheshire. They have just gone on display, following conservation. The sitters are reasonably well documented but the artists are unknown
Valence House Museum has submitted the following query: “This portrait has been given to us on loan for identification. Nothing is known about this portrait other than a suggestion that it may show Lady Ann Fanshawe (1625-1680). However, we do not believe this to be correct. Any suggestions regarding execution date and artist would be […]
Valence House Museum has submitted the following query: “The attached portrait has been given to us on loan for identification. A handwritten note on the reverse suggests that it is of Elizabeth Fanshawe, née Cockayne (1609-1667/8) by Sir Peter Lely. In 1629 Elizabeth became the 2nd wife of Viscount Fanshawe. We would like to clarify […]
