(Flemish, 1660-1743)

1st Duchess of Cleveland, after a portrait by Sir Peter Lely (1618-1680) circa 1680, unsigned, oil on oak panel, 15-5/8 x 12-1/2 in.; later Dutch style ripple molding frame measuring 20 x 17 x 7/8 in.

Provenance: Estate of A. Ludlow, Shropshire; Presumed Haddon Hall, England; Cider House Galleries, October 19, 2017, purchased for £3,200; Private Virginia Collection

Note: This piece is modeled after a detail of the Peter Lely portrait of the same subject. Anthony Russel was a skilled portraitist, trained under his father and the court painter for William and Mary. Russel was known for making small-scale portrait replicas such as these for the noble and wealthy.

The sitter, Barbara Palmer (nee Villiers), Duchess of Cleveland, was both admired for her beauty and despised for her calculating nature; John Evelyn, a noted diarist of the time, called her "the curse of the nation." Coming from less fortunate circumstances, the Duchess married rich to improve her lot in life. Within the first three years of this marriage, she, upon visiting to deliver letters and money, caught the attention of monarch Charles II. She almost immediately was made his mistress and separated from her husband. After giving birth to his son, she was able to convince the monarch to appoint her as Lady of the Bedchamber to the Queen Consort, much to the chagrin of Charles II's actual bride, Catherine of Braganza. Despite her questionable reputation, she was highly influential in the Court; she spent money extravagantly and her power at the height of her influence was such that she has been called "The Uncrowned Queen. "Diana, the late Princess of Wales, is perhaps the most well-known of her many descendants.