Portrait of Colonel Thomas Cheke of Pyrgo Park, Essex (1628-1688), Lieutenant of the Tower of London, full-length, in armour with a red sash, the Tower beyond

Details

JOHN RILEY (LONDON 1646-1691) AND JOHN CLOSTERMAN (OSNABRÜCK 1660-1711 LONDON)
Portrait of Colonel Thomas Cheke of Pyrgo Park, Essex (1628-1688), Lieutenant of the Tower of London, full-length, in armour with a red sash, the Tower beyond
oil on canvas
85 ½ x 54 in. (217.2 x 137.2 cm.)
inscribed 'Thomas Cheeke / apoynted Leif.^t/ of the Tower' (centre left, on the white paper)
in a frame of foliate carved and pierced giltwood, applied to an ebonised subframe

Please note that 100% of the hammer proceeds from this auction will be paid to the Sandys Trust, registered charity number: 1168357, with the exception of limited deductions towards sale costs across the auction which cannot be accurately calculated at this time, capped at a total of £10,000.

Provenance

(Presumably) by descent to the sitter's daughter,
Anne Tipping, née Cheke (1678-1728), and by descent to her daughter,
Letitia Tipping (1699-1779), wife of Samuel Sandys, 1st Baron Sandys (1695-1770), and by descent to their son,
Edwin Sandys, 2nd Baron Sandys (1726-1797), and by inheritance to his niece,
Mary, Marchioness of Downshire and 1st Baroness Sandys (1764-1836), and by descent to her second son,
Lieutenant-General Arthur Hill, 2nd Baron Sandys (1792-1860), and by inheritance to his younger brother,
Arthur Marcus Sandys, 3rd Baron Sandys (1798-1863), and by descent to,
Richard Hill, 7th Baron Sandys (1931-2013), Ombersley Court, Worcestershire.

Literature

Ombersley Court Inventory, c.1750-1775, Ombersley MS., where listed in the Salon Room.
T.R. Nash, Collections for the History of Worcestershire, London, 1781-2, II, p. 224.
J. Grego, Inventory of Pictures: Portraits, Paintings, etc., Ombersley MS., 1905, as ‘Kneller?’, where listed in the Grand Saloon.
ONM/ 1 / 2 / 7, journal entry for a visit to Ombersley Court, 25 August 1950, Oliver Millar Archive, Paul Mellon Centre, London, p. 27.
Ombersley Court Inventory, June 1963, annotated Ombersley MS., as 'Michael Dahl', where listed in the Saloon.
Ombersley Court Catalogue of Pictures, undated, Ombersley MS., p. 24, where listed in the Saloon.

Conditions of sale

Brought to you by

Adrian Hume-Sayer Director, Specialist

Lot Essay

Thomas Cheke was the grandson of Sir John Cheke (see lot 122). His second wife, Letitia Russell, was the daughter of Edward Russell (see lot 57) and the sister of Admiral Russell, 1st Earl of Orford (see lot 55). In 1679, Thomas was appointed Lieutenant of the Tower of London under King Charles II, a position he held until 1687 when James II removed him from office.

Oliver Millar drew attention to the 'soft flesh, rather cool hair, finely painted lace and a certain fluffy angularity', in this portrait, which he noted was typical of 'Riley/Closterman' (op. cit., p. 27). The two artists worked together in partnership from the 1680s, after Closterman arrived in England and was appointed to paint the drapery in Riley's portraits. Together they produced a number of aristocratic and royal portraits, until 1691, when Closterman took over Riley's studio after his death.

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