William Windham I (1647 - 1689)
Sir Peter Lely (Soest 1618 – London 1680)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
1665 - 1669
Materials
Oil on canvas
Measurements
1080 x 948 mm (42 1/2 x 37 1/3 in)
Place of origin
London
Order this imageCollection
Felbrigg, Norfolk
NT 1401172
Caption
This portrait was probably painted by Lely before the sitter’s marriage in 1669, and given by his widow, along with her own portrait to their son, Ashe, on his marriage in 1709. William was the eldest surviving son of Thomas Windham’s second marriage to Elizabeth Mede. He inherited Felbrigg from his half-brother, John, in 1665. Although his neighbour, Sir John Hobart, tried to persuade him to stand as MP, William preferred “ease at home, love of privacy, and good husbandry”. He commissioned the gentleman-amateur architect, William Samwell, to design a new west wing for the house (b.1675-87), and planted quantities of trees on the estate – particularly chesnuts.
Summary
Oil painting on canvas, William Windham I (1647-1689) by Sir Peter Lely (Soest 1618 – London 1680), circa 1665/69. A three-quarter-length portrait of a man standing portrait turned to his right, wearing a full periwig with chestnut brown coat with white sleeves, dark brown ground. Probably painted by Lely before the sitter's marriage in 1669, and given by his widow, along with her own portrait, to their son Ashe, on his marriage in 1709. A replica was in the collection of Thomas de Grey, Lord Walsingham, Merton Hall and wrongly identified as William de Grey (d.1687), the father of Thomas de Grey, who married William Windham I's second daughter, Elizabeth, and lived at Merton.
Provenance
Given to Ashe Windham, MP (1673 - 1749) by his mother in 1709; 1764 and 1771 (First Room): Mr Ash Windhams Father and his Lady; thence b Part of the Windham Collection. The hall and contents were bequeathed to the National Trust in 1969 by Robert Wyndham Ketton-Cremer (1906-1969) y descent to Robert Wyndham Ketton-Cremer (1906 - 1969), by whom bequeathed to the National Trust in 1969.
Credit line
Felbrigg Hall, The Windham Collection (National Trust)
Makers and roles
Sir Peter Lely (Soest 1618 – London 1680), publisher
References
Ketton-Cremer 1962 Robert Wyndham Ketton-Cremer. Felbrigg, the story of a house. London: Rupert Hart-Davis, 1962, pp.50 & 135