18Th Century Oil Portrait Walter Raleigh

18th Century Historical Oil Portrait of Sir Walter Raleigh, English School After The Celebrated Lennard Type

Highlights

English School, 18th century.

Portrait of Sir Walter Raleigh.

Oil on wood panel.

Bust-length portrait within a painted oval.

Associated with the later Lennard Type portrait tradition.

Historic black stencilled inventory mark FY 730 verso.

Woolley & Wallis auction provenance.

Subsequently museum exhibited.

Decorative gilt frame.

Introduction

An evocative 18th-century English School oil portrait of Sir Walter Raleigh, one of the defining figures of Elizabethan England.

Raleigh appears bust-length within a painted oval wearing a richly coloured red garment, elaborate white ruff and broad black feathered hat.

The composition belongs to the later historical portrait tradition through which celebrated Elizabethan personalities continued to be represented for Georgian collectors.

Catalogue Note

Further research places the work within the visual tradition surrounding the celebrated Lennard Type of Raleigh.

The established portrait of Raleigh and his son became an important source for subsequent images, while engraved interpretations helped transmit Raleigh's likeness throughout the 18th century.

The reverse bears the historic black stencilled inventory identifier FY 730.

Its original collection, dealer or auction-house source has not presently been established. It is consequently retained and recorded as an important unresolved provenance feature.

Provenance

Private Southern England collection, according to accompanying documentation.

Woolley & Wallis, Salisbury, Old Masters, British & European Paintings, 5 March 2025, Lot 156.

Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD.

Subsequently loaned & privately exhibited at the Famous Lord Hill Museum, Shropshire.

Verso bearing historic inventory stencil FY 730.

Dimensions Franed

Height 29.5 cm.

Width 24.5 cm.

Depth 3.2 cm.

Condition Report

Fine preserved antique condition.

Age-related craquelure, foxing, staining and evidence of historic intervention or retouching are present.

The gilt frame displays rubbing, scuffs, surface marks and small losses consistent with age.

Worldwide shipping available.

Certificate of Sale & Dealer Attribution

The artwork will be supplied with a Certificate of Sale & Dealer Attribution issued by Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD®, recording the artwork’s catalogue details, attribution, provenance as stated, and details of the sale. This document accompanies the work as part of its ongoing ownership and provenance record.

Attribution and Research

The historical observations, provenance research, attribution analysis and contextual commentary presented within this catalogue entry represent the professional opinion of Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD®. They are offered in good faith as informed scholarly assessments based upon the available evidence, comparative research, published reference material and our experience within the international fine art market.

These observations should be understood as professional opinions rather than definitive statements of fact or guarantees of authorship, attribution, date, origin, provenance or historical interpretation. As with all historic works of art, future documentary discoveries, technical examination, conservation analysis or advances in academic research may refine, expand or revise current interpretations.

Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD®

Specialising in carefully curated British and European fine art, antiques and historic works of art.

Every artwork is professionally researched and catalogued using comparative scholarship, published reference material and more than two decades of experience within the international fine art market. We are committed to offering collectors works of artistic and historical merit accompanied by transparent provenance research, detailed catalogue descriptions and professional, client-focused service.

Additional photographs and further information are available upon request.