Laurence Hyde, 1st Earl of Rochester

Inscriptionback to top

Signed, lower right: G. Kneller fecit/Ao 1685.<sup>1

1</sup> In 1868 Scharf had read the date as 169[-] (Sir George Scharf’s Sketch Books, 81:44a). The date of 1685 only became clear in cleaning in 1957 (D. Piper, Catalogue of the Seventeenth Century Portraits in the National Portrait Gallery 1625-1714, 1963, p 299).

This portraitback to top

Wearing an earl’s coronation robe and surcoat with Garter collar, holding the lord treasurer’s wand, with his coronet with cap of maintenance by his side. One of four portraits of Rochester painted by Kneller c.1685-86 and the only whole-length; all show him with the lord treasurer’s wand, two in Garter robes and two in coronation robes. Rochester held the position of lord treasurer in 1685-87 and was made KG in June 1685. The three-quarter-length in the Suffolk collection relates closely to this composition.
A half-length oval mezzotint by I. Beckett (J. Chaloner Smith, British Mezzotinto Portraits, 89), in coronation robes, the title describing him as a privy councillor, governor of Ireland and Knight of the Garter (but not as treasurer) closely resembles NPG 4033 and was perhaps derived from it.

Referenceback to top

Piper 1963
D. Piper, Catalogue of the Seventeenth Century Portraits in the National Portrait Gallery 1625-1714, 1963, p 299.

Stewart 1983
J. D. Stewart, Godfrey Kneller, 1983, no.613.

Provenanceback to top

The Earls of Darnley (possibly descended from the sitter’s niece, Theodosia Hyde, wife of the 1st Earl of Darnley); Cobham Hall sale, Sotheby’s, 23 July 1957, lot 366, bought Leggatt for the NPG.

Exhibitionsback to top

Gawthorpe 1987–.


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.

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