Lot 121: Attr. Godfrey Kneller, O/C Portrait of John Banks

Attributed to Sir Godfrey Kneller (Germany/England/Netherlands, 1646-1723) oil on canvas half-length portrait of a man, said to be John Bankes or Banks, M.P. (1627-1714), who wears a blue silk coat and white stock. Unsigned. With partial James Bourlet & Sons, Ltd. (London) label affixed to back of frame. Sight: 29" H x 24" W. Framed: 36" H x 31" W. Biographical note: "[Kneller was a] German-born painter who settled in England and became the leading portraitist there in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. He studied in Amsterdam under [Ferdinand] Bol, a pupil of Rembrandt, and later in Italy, before moving to England, probably in the mid-1670s. The opportune death of serious rivals (notably [Peter] Lely in 1680) and his own arrogant self-assurance enabled him to establish himself as the dominant court and society painter by the beginning of the reign of James II (1685). Following the accession of William III and Mary II in 1689 he was appointed their principal painter jointly with John Riley (becoming sole bearer of the title when Riley died in 1691), in 1692 he was knighted, and in 1715 he was created a baronet by George I, an unprecedented honour for a painter." (Source: The Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists)

PROVENANCE: The collection of Jon E. Jones, Cookeville, TN; Christie's South Kensington; Sale 6507: British and Victorian Pictures; June 9, 1994; Lot 7

CONDITION: Overall very good condition. Canvas had been lined. Minor frame abrasions and negligible waviness to canvas.