Later Stuart Portraits Catalogue
Catherine Sedley, Countess of Dorchester (1657-1717), Mistress of James II; wife of 1st Earl of Portmore; daughter of Sir Charles Sedley
- Gallery portraits
- All known portraits
- Biography and References
c.1675
Painting by Peter Lely, see under NPG 36.
1676-77
Painting by Mary Beale, three-quarter-length (Beale pocket book 1676/7). Untraced.
c.1680?
Painting by Willem Wissing, engraved R. Williams as Madam Sidley, bust-length oval, hair over her right shoulder, low-cut dress (J. Chaloner Smith, British Mezzotinto Portraits, 52).
1683
Painting by Godfrey Kneller, three-quarter-length seated with flowers in her right hand, a dog by her side, signed and dated. Sutton Park, from the Berkeley Sheffield sale, Christie’s, 16 July 1943, lot 68 (J. D. Stewart, Godfrey Kneller, 1983, no.226).
1684
Painting by Godfrey Kneller, three-quarter-length seated on a bed, pulling back curtain. Suffolk collection, English Heritage (The Suffolk Collection, exhibition catalogue, Ranger’s House, Blackheath, 1975, no.44 as Unknown Lady, studio of Kneller, illus.; J. D. Stewart, Godfrey Kneller, 1983, no.571).
1685
Painting by Godfrey Kneller, three-quarter-length seated, her left elbow resting on a table, signed and dated. Kedleston. Engraved I. Beckett (J. Chaloner Smith, British Mezzotinto Portraits, 32) as The Countess of Dorchester, a later state has I. Smith ex. Exhibited Painted Ladies at the Court of Charles II, NPG/New Haven, 2001, no.96. A signed replica, dated 1687, was in the Redlynch sale, Sotheby’s, 24 January 1973, lot 4.
c.1685
Miniature by Peter Cross, see NPG 1696.
c.1688
Painting by Godfrey Kneller, whole-length standing on a terrace, leaning on a stone vase. Sam Lord’s Castle, Barbados; from the Rev E. H. Dawkins sale, Christie’s, 28 February 1913, lot 27, and the Dawkins family at Over Norton, Oxon. (J. D. Stewart, Godfrey Kneller, 1983, no.229, pl.28c).
Two portraits of the Countess were in the Strawberry Hill sale 1842: by Charles Jervas (22nd day, 19 May, lot 107) and an oval by Dahl (21st day, 18 May, lot 70), the latter possibly that sold Christie’s, 10 December 1910, lot 10 (W. Nisser, Michael Dahl, 1927, cat. p 59, nos 49a, 49b).
Doubtful Portraits
Painting attributed to Kneller, three-quarter-length seated, left elbow on plinth; Althorp (K. J. Garlick, ‘A Catalogue of Pictures at Althorp’, Wal. Soc., XLV, 1976, no.350; illus. A. Fea, James II and his Wives, 1908, f.p.136 as Beale); exhibited First Special Exhibition of National Portraits ( ... ending with the reign of James the second), South Kensington, 1867, no.1022.
Miniature, bust-length to front wearing headscarf, signed MB; Christie’s, 4 March 1913, lot 41 (illus. Connoisseur, LI, 1918, p 64).
This extended catalogue entry is from the National Portrait Gallery collection catalogue: John Ingamells, National Portrait Gallery: Later Stuart Portraits 1685-1714, National Portrait Gallery, 2009, and is as published then. For the most up-to-date details on individual Collection works, we recommend reading the information provided in the Search the Collection results on this website in parallel with this text.
Painting by Peter Lely, see under NPG 36.
1676-77
Painting by Mary Beale, three-quarter-length (Beale pocket book 1676/7). Untraced.
c.1680?
Painting by Willem Wissing, engraved R. Williams as Madam Sidley, bust-length oval, hair over her right shoulder, low-cut dress (J. Chaloner Smith, British Mezzotinto Portraits, 52).
1683
Painting by Godfrey Kneller, three-quarter-length seated with flowers in her right hand, a dog by her side, signed and dated. Sutton Park, from the Berkeley Sheffield sale, Christie’s, 16 July 1943, lot 68 (J. D. Stewart, Godfrey Kneller, 1983, no.226).
1684
Painting by Godfrey Kneller, three-quarter-length seated on a bed, pulling back curtain. Suffolk collection, English Heritage (The Suffolk Collection, exhibition catalogue, Ranger’s House, Blackheath, 1975, no.44 as Unknown Lady, studio of Kneller, illus.; J. D. Stewart, Godfrey Kneller, 1983, no.571).
1685
Painting by Godfrey Kneller, three-quarter-length seated, her left elbow resting on a table, signed and dated. Kedleston. Engraved I. Beckett (J. Chaloner Smith, British Mezzotinto Portraits, 32) as The Countess of Dorchester, a later state has I. Smith ex. Exhibited Painted Ladies at the Court of Charles II, NPG/New Haven, 2001, no.96. A signed replica, dated 1687, was in the Redlynch sale, Sotheby’s, 24 January 1973, lot 4.
c.1685
Miniature by Peter Cross, see NPG 1696.
c.1688
Painting by Godfrey Kneller, whole-length standing on a terrace, leaning on a stone vase. Sam Lord’s Castle, Barbados; from the Rev E. H. Dawkins sale, Christie’s, 28 February 1913, lot 27, and the Dawkins family at Over Norton, Oxon. (J. D. Stewart, Godfrey Kneller, 1983, no.229, pl.28c).
Two portraits of the Countess were in the Strawberry Hill sale 1842: by Charles Jervas (22nd day, 19 May, lot 107) and an oval by Dahl (21st day, 18 May, lot 70), the latter possibly that sold Christie’s, 10 December 1910, lot 10 (W. Nisser, Michael Dahl, 1927, cat. p 59, nos 49a, 49b).
Doubtful Portraits
Painting attributed to Kneller, three-quarter-length seated, left elbow on plinth; Althorp (K. J. Garlick, ‘A Catalogue of Pictures at Althorp’, Wal. Soc., XLV, 1976, no.350; illus. A. Fea, James II and his Wives, 1908, f.p.136 as Beale); exhibited First Special Exhibition of National Portraits ( ... ending with the reign of James the second), South Kensington, 1867, no.1022.
Miniature, bust-length to front wearing headscarf, signed MB; Christie’s, 4 March 1913, lot 41 (illus. Connoisseur, LI, 1918, p 64).
This extended catalogue entry is from the National Portrait Gallery collection catalogue: John Ingamells, National Portrait Gallery: Later Stuart Portraits 1685-1714, National Portrait Gallery, 2009, and is as published then. For the most up-to-date details on individual Collection works, we recommend reading the information provided in the Search the Collection results on this website in parallel with this text.