Elizabeth Dormer, Marchioness of Worcester (b.1610 or after - 1635)
after Sir Anthony Van Dyck (Antwerp 1599 - London 1641)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
1620 - 1635
Materials
Oil on canvas
Measurements
1422 x 1048 mm (56 x 41 ¼ in)
Place of origin
England
Order this imageCollection
Powis Castle and Garden, Powys
NT 1180903
Caption
Elizabeth Dormer was the daughter of Sir William Dormer. In 1628 she married Edward, Lord Herbert of Raglan, who subsequently became the 2nd Marquess of Worcester. She had three children: Henry, 1st Duke of Beaufort; Elizabeth, Lady Somerset; and Anne, Lady Somerset. This painting, by an 18th-century copyist, is derived from an original portrait by Van Dyck, which is today in a private collection. The composition, which places the sitter before a tripartite backdrop of drapery, architecture and a landscape view, is typical in Van Dyck’s portraits of aristocratic women.
Summary
Oil painting on canvas, Elizabeth Dormer, Marchioness of Worcester (b.1610 or after - 1635), after Sir Anthony Van Dyck (Antwerp 1599 - London 1641). A three-quarter-length portrait of a woman in a white dress and fur stole, against a landscape background and red-draped column. Elizabeth Dormer was the daughter of Sir William Dormer, and married Edward Somerset, Lord Herbert of Raglan, later 2nd Marquess of Worcester (d.1667). Elizabeth Dormer was mother of Elizabeth Somerset (before 1635-1691) who married William Herbert, 1st Marquis of Powis. Her son, Henry Somerset, 1st Duke of Beaufort, 3rd Marquess of Worcester (1629–1700), in his official role as Lord President of Wales, visited Powis Castle on a state visit in 1684.
Provenance
Accepted by HM Treasury on 21st March, 1963 in lieu of tax and conveyed to National Trust ownership on 29th November 1963
Credit line
Powis Castle, The Powis Collection (National Trust)
Marks and inscriptions
Verso: stencilled on back of canvas in large black letters: ELIZABETH / DAUGHTER OF / SIR WILLIAM DORMER KT. / M 2ND MARQUESS OF WORCESTER; and in chalk on l.h. stretcher strut: The East of Room No 4
Makers and roles
after Sir Anthony Van Dyck (Antwerp 1599 - London 1641), artist
References
Steegman 1957 John Steegman, A Survey of Portraits in Welsh Houses, Vol.I: North Wales, Cardiff, 1957, no. 15 Barnes, De Poorter, Millar, Vey, 2004 Susan J. Barnes, Nora De Poorter, Oliver Millar and Horst Vey, Van Dyck. A Complete Catalogue of the Paintings, New Haven and London, 2004, p.532, under cat. no. IV.131