Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough (1660-1744) [?] politician and courtier; wife of 1st Duke of Marlborough

Charles Jervas (c.1675 - 1739)

Oil on canvas

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  • About the work
    Location
    Country: UK
    City: London
    Place: Downing Street

    A young woman reclines in the grounds of an impressive estate. Her red dress and pale pink skin form a striking contrast to the cool, dark colours of the landscape around her.

    The identity of the sitter in this work is uncertain. When the portrait was sold through Christie's in 1976 it was titled 'Portrait of a Lady, possibly Elizabeth, Duchess of Bridgewater'. The catalogue entry went on to explain that the work was '...previously called Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough. There is a portrait of the sitter in a white satin dress at Woburn Abbey (no. 203) and another at Blenheim called Lady Anne Chuchill.'

  • About the artist
    Charles Jervas, portrait painter, translator and collector of art, was born in Dublin. He moved to London in the mid 1690s, where he studied under Sir Godfrey Kneller. In 1698 he travelled to Paris to study in the Louvre and then went on to Rome, where he copied antique statuary and paintings by the Italian masters and also purchased art on behalf of English collectors. He returned to London in 1709 and 1723 he succeeded his former tutor, Kneller, as Principal Painter to King George I and later to George II. One of his most important patrons was Sir Robert Walpole, whom he also assisted in acquiring works of art.
  • Explore
    People
    Sarah (née Jenyns), Duchess of Marlborough Churchill (1660 - 1744)
    Places
    Subjects
    female portrait, landscape C18th, stone/rock, woman, 18th century costume, dress, Duchess
    Materials & Techniques
    canvas, oil, oil painting
  • Details
    Artist
    Charles Jervas (c.1675 - 1739)
    Title
    Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough (1660-1744) [?] politician and courtier; wife of 1st Duke of Marlborough
    Date
    Medium
    Oil on canvas
    Dimensions
    height: 135.50 cm, width: 156.00 cm
    Acquisition
    Purchased from Christie's, 18 June 1976
    Provenance
    Collection of the Right Honourable John Francis Granville Scrope, Earl of Ellesmere, of Bridgewater House, Cleveland Square, St James's, London (and on loan to the Ministry of Works from 1961); sold by the trustees of the Ellesmere 1939 Settlement through Christie's, London, 'Important English Pictures' sale, on 18 June 1976 (Lot 117), as 'Portrait of a Lady, possibly Elizabeth, Duchess of Bridgewater'; from which sale purchased by the Department of the Environment
    GAC number
    12426