This portrait is believed to have hung in the State Bedroom at Lydiard House until the house was sold to Swindon Corporation in 1943 and some paintings were sent to auction. Swindon has been actively acquiring the auctioned paintings and this work was one of a small number remaining in private hands. Lydiard House was the ancestral home of the St. John family, also known as the Viscounts Bolingbroke. The daughter of the 3rd Earl of Warwick, Lady Mary Rich, married Henry St. John, 1st Viscount St. John. Their son, Henry, became the 1st Viscount Bolingbroke and was a notable Tory politician, historian and philosopher.

Provenance

Viscount Bolingbroke at Lydiard House until 1943; Christie's, 1943; Colonel G C Golding; Christie's, 1951; Private collection. Sold through Anthony Mould.