Captain Robert Bransby, RN (d.1692), uncle of Lady Elizabeth Astley
British (English) School
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
circa 1670 - 1675
Materials
Oil on canvas
Measurements
1130 x 940 mm
Order this imageCollection
Seaton Delaval Hall, Northumberland
NT 1276883
Summary
Oil painting on canvas, Captain Robert Bransby RN (d.1692), uncle of Lady Elizabeth Astley, British (English) School, c.1670/75. A three-quarter length portrait, standing, wearing a white shirt, red cloak and full-bottomed wig, shipping at sea beyond.
Full description
The original title suggested that the sitter was the father of Elizabeth Bransby (c.1672-1738), who married in 1690 Sir Philip Astley, 2nd Bt (1667-1739), but she was the daughter of Thomas Bransby (d.1690) of Caistor and Great Yarmouth, Norfolk. There existed a Robert Bransby, a surgeon, of Hapton, Norfolk, who – confusingly – also had a daughter, Elizabeth (1709/10 – 1784), but she married her father’s assistant, Benjamin Gooch (1707/8-1776). The Thomas Bransby of Caistor did, however, have a brother, Robert, who resided in Great Yarmouth. In M. Rumble’s Great Yarmouth History [dates] (pp.360-1), the Bransbys are described as merchants, Great Yarmouth being one of the great trade centres with the Low Countries. Elizabeth was Thomas’s only child, and became the sole heir to her father and uncle. Through this marriage, the Astleys acquired a significant fortune, and a number of portraits at Melton Constable were hung in what was then called ‘the Bransby Room’. Their son, Sir Jacob, 3rd Bt. (1692-1760) sold the Bransbys' Great Yarmouth house. Comparisons with other portraits suggest that the sitter is not one of the naval Captains (Sir Charles Wager or Sir John Jenning – both half-lengths) described in the 1755 inventory, which anyway belonged to the Delavals, rather than to the Astleys. There is a watercolour on vellum miniature, by Flatman, in the National Gallery of Ireland, where he is shown as a young man.
Provenance
On loan from Lord Hastings. Note: This was purchased by the Trust by private Treaty in February 2012. Previously LH...
Makers and roles
British (English) School, artist attributed to Thomas Pooley (Ipswich 1646 – Dublin 1723), artist