Sir Peter Lely and Studio, portrait of James Butler the 1st ...

Estimate

£7,000 - £9,000

Sir Peter Lely and Studio, portrait of James Butler the 1st Duke of Ormonde, three quarter length in Garter, oil on canvas, 133.5cms x 107cms

Provenance:
Lot 49 in The Thynne Heirloom auction at Christies on the 1st of May 1911 where it fetched £42.00 and was sold to Robson.

The painting bears a plaque inscribed Thynne Heirloom.






Catalogue Note:

James Butler, first Duke of Ormonde, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, was born at Clerkenwell, Middlesex to Thomas Butler, Viscount Thurles (c. 1596–1619), son and heir of Walter Butler, eleventh Earl of Ormond, and Elizabeth Poyntz (c. 1588–1673) from Iron Acton, Gloucestershire. The Butlers were one of the principal families of Anglo-Norman settlers to survive in Ireland from the middle ages, but the first Duke of Ormonde broke with the Catholicism of his forebears to become one of the most significant statesmen and soldiers in the service of King Charles I in his campaign against the Irish uprising that preceded the English Civil War. Ormonde remained loyal to the Stuarts throughout his life despite falling in and out of favour. Following the execution of Charles I, he lived in exile from 1647–60, upon his return he received the English earldom of Brecknock, meaning he could sit in the English House of Lords, as well as the subsidiary title of Baron Butler of Llanthony. More momentous, however, was his elevation to the Irish dukedom of Ormonde in 1661. A unique distinction, it confirmed his standing as Charles's foremost subject in that kingdom. Until his death in 1688, the Duke of Ormonde held various different senior offices in the court of Charles II, was often consulted on Irish matters and ultimately gained a reputation for being loyal, uncompromising and highly principled.