Sir Abraham Elton, 2nd Bt (1679-1742)
possibly Jonathan Richardson the elder (London 1665 – London 1745)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
circa 1702
Materials
Oil on canvas
Measurements
762 x 635 mm (30 x 25 in)
Place of origin
England
Order this imageCollection
Clevedon Court, North Somerset
NT 624134
Summary
Oil painting on canvas, Sir Abraham Elton 2nd Bt (1679 - 1742), possibly by Jonathan Richardson the elder (London 1665 – London 1745). Inscription:........ A portrait of Sir Abraham Elton, 2nd Bt in a painted oval of a mature man, half-length, turned slightly to the left, gazing at the spectator. Pale complexion. He wears a powdered full-bottomed wig, a red velvet coat, white stock and a red velvet cloak draped over his left shoulder. Dark background. Son of Sir Abraham Elton, 1st Bt and Mary Jefferies; baptised on 30 June 1679; married Abigail Bayly, daughter of Zachary Bayly, on 14 May 1702; Mayor of Bristol 1710; Master of the Merchant Venturers 1719; Member of Parliament for Taunton 1724-1727 and of Bristol 1727-1742). He was ruined in the South Sea Bubble.
Provenance
Purchased from Lady Margaret Ann Elton (1915 – 1995), 1981 with the help of grants from the V&A Purchase Fund and the NHMF
Credit line
Killerton, The Acland Collection (National Trust)
Makers and roles
possibly Jonathan Richardson the elder (London 1665 – London 1745), artist previously catalogued as attributed to John Smibert (Edinburgh 1688 – Boston, Massachusetts 1751), artist previously catalogued as attributed to Sir Godfrey Kneller (Lübeck 1646 - London 1723), artist
References
Clevedon Court [The National Trust] revised 1972, 1974, 1977, 1979, p.26. "The other portraits in the Great Hall are of Eltons and their wives and relations, and include the ten Baronets. ...The second and fourth Sir Abrahams look down from the screen. To the right of the screen door, Sir Abraham II is in red and wears a full wig. His wife Abigail, has a black head-dress. Both portraits are probably by Sir GodfreyKneller."