Sir Ralph Bankes, MP (?1631-1677)
Sir Peter Lely (Soest 1618 – London 1680)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
circa 1655
Materials
Oil on canvas
Measurements
1270 x 1029 mm (50 x 40 1/2 in)
Place of origin
England
Order this imageCollection
Kingston Lacy Estate, Dorset
NT 1257049
Summary
Oil painting on canvas, Sir Ralph Bankes, MP (?1631-1677) by Sir Peter Lely (Soest 1618 – London 1680), circa 1655. A three-quarter-length portrait, seated, turned to left, head facing, his left arm leaning on the plinth of a large pillar, right, natural red hair, curled and worn shoulder length, gold/russet loose robe worn over white shirt with full sleeves appearing from sleeves of robe, also draped on plinth beneath his left arm is a reddish velvet cloak or drape; landscape to left seen past trees with stormy clouds above. Sir Ralph Bankes (?1631-1677) was the second and eldest surviving son of Chief Justice Sir John Bankes (1589-1644) and Mary Hawtrey (1598-1661) only daughter of Ralph Hawtrey of Ruislip; married in 1661, Mary Brune (before 1646-1711) daughter and sole heir of John Brune of Athelhampton, Dorset; knighted 1660. His collection of pictures was the foundation for that at Kingston Lacy.
Full description
References: Emile de Bruijn, Borrowed Landscapes: China and Japan in the Historic Houses and Gardens of Britain and Ireland, London, Philip Wilson Publishers in association with the National Trust, 2023, pp. 26-7 (fig. 8), and see further references listed there.
Provenance
By descent until bequeathed by (Henry John) Ralph Bankes (1902 – 1981) to the National Trust, together with the estates of Corfe Castle and Kingston Lacy and its entire contents in 1981
Credit line
Kingston Lacy, The Bankes Collection (National Trust)
Marks and inscriptions
Recto: W. VAN DE VELDE: 16
Makers and roles
Sir Peter Lely (Soest 1618 – London 1680), artist
References
Prized Possessions: Dutch Paintings from National Trust Houses (exh. cat.), Holburne Museum, Bath 25 May - 16 Sep 2018; Mauritshuis, The Hague, 11 Oct 2018 - 6 Jan 2019; Petworth House, West Sussex, 26 Jan - 24 Mar 2019., pp. 14-5
