Attributed to Mary Beale (1633-1699)

Portrait of a gentleman, erroneously believed to be Sir John Coventry (1636-1685) half-length, in a painted stone cartouche
oil on canvas
74 x 60cm

Provenance:
By family tradition by descent at Croome Court in the collection of the Earls of Coventry,
Thence to Lady Peggy Coventry,
Her daughter Mrs Michael Watson until offered at Christie's, London, 26th June 1959, lot 98, as Sir P. Lely [where said to have come from the estate of Mrs Kathleen Hancock (b. 1871, née Coventry, herself a descendant of the 6th Earl)] when bought back by the family,
Chillesford Lodge, Suffolk

The sitter is more probably the Hon. John Coventry (1654-1687) later 4th Baron Coventry of Aylesborough.

Condition Report

The painting is executed in oil on a canvas support which has been lined. The canvas tension is good, the picture is in plane and the paint layers are stable and secure. Localised areas of retouching are well matched to the original. The varnish is clear and semi-matte. There is a layer of surface dirt present with insect droppings across the surface.