Sir Thomas Coventry, 1st Baron Coventry of Aylesborough (1578–1639/40), Lord Keeper
after Cornelius Johnson (London 1593 - Utrecht 1661)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
circa 1622 - 1660
Materials
Oil on panel
Measurements
690 x 510 mm
Order this imageCollection
Antony Private Collection, Cornwall
NT 353042
Caption
Lord Coventry sat to Johnson on some five occasions between 1623 and 1639, so there are various versions of his portrait including at Lacock (NT 996345), Charlecote (NT533874) and Erddig (NT 1151371). Lord Coventry was a prominent English lawyer, politician and judge. In 1617 he was made Solicitor-General by King James I and knighted, and in 1621 he became Attorney General. On the ascent of Charles I in 1625, he was promoted again, to Lord Keeper. He was created Baron Coventry of Aylesborough in 1628. As a Protestant, it is thought that his appointment served to quell religious friction following the King’s marriage to Henrietta Maria. Johnson became the King’s Painter in 1632, perhaps on the recommendation of Lord Coventry. Fearful of the consequences of the Civil War, he retired to Holland in 1643, finally settling in Utrecht where he died.
Summary
Oil painting on panel, Sir Thomas Coventry, 1st Baron Coventry of Aylesborough (1578–1639/40), Lord Keeper, after Cornelius Johnson (London 1593 - Utrecht 1661). He was appointed Attorney-General in 1621 and Lord Keeper in 1625.
Provenance
By inheritance and descent; through Lady Anne Coventry, Lady Carew (1695/6 - 1733); on loan from Trustees of Antony
Makers and roles
after Cornelius Johnson (London 1593 - Utrecht 1661), artist