Wrongly said to be of Sir Thomas Chicheley (1618-1699)
attributed to John Hayls (fl.before 1641 – London 1679)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
1641 - 1679
Materials
Oil on canvas
Measurements
1264 x 1003 mm (49 3/4 x 39 1/2 in)
Order this imageCollection
Wimpole, Cambridgeshire
NT 207820
Caption
The sitter in this portrait has always been traditionally identified as Sir Thomas Chicheley, who was a member of one of the wealthiest families in Cambridgeshire. He was a zealous Royalist, who was heavily penalised during the Commonwealth. His ruinous extravagance forced him to sell Wimpole, where this picture now hangs. However, in the absence of any provenance or other evidence to support the identification of this painting as of Sir Thomas Chicheley, it must be regarded as a portrait of somebody else. The baton held by the sitter suggests that he held an actual military command. The painting used to be attributed to Sir Anthony Van Dyck. The pose was certainly used by him, but the picture looks later.
Summary
Oil painting on canvas, Wrongly said to be of Sir Thomas Chicheley (1618-1699), attributed to John Hayls (fl.before 1641 – London 1679). Bought by Mrs Bambridge around 1957 as Sir Thomas Chicheley, the spendthrift builder of the first house at Wimpole. There is, however, no resemblance to Sir Thomas as he is shown in Dobson's sure portrait of him in a private collection, and the sitter is much younger than Sir Thomas would have been in the 1640's when this portrait was painted.
Provenance
"Bought from Old Clock House, Ascot for £42.10s"; [...]; bequeathed by Elsie Kipling, Mrs George Bambridge (1896 - 1976), daughter of Rudyard Kipling, to the National Trust together with Wimpole Hall, all its contents and an estate of 3,000 acres
Credit line
Wimpole Hall, The Bambridge Collection (National Trust)
Makers and roles
attributed to John Hayls (fl.before 1641 – London 1679), artist