Mary Beale (1632-1699), Circle of - A portrait of a Lady

Mary Beale (1632-1699) Circle of

Period 1650-1700

Provenance : Christie's of London.

An old auction label to the verso.

From a private London collection

Overall measurements including the ornate gilt frame are 100 cm x 83 cm x 9 cm and the pairing itself measuring 77 cm x 61 cm


Title: A portrait of a lady

A wonderful portrait of what was most likely a noble lady in her deep-burgundy period costume with dropped pearl earring and matching pearl braiding to her hair. Wonderful character we look and wonder who this rather charismatic lady of her time was.


Mary Beale (1632-1699) was the most distinguished female portrait painter of the Stuart period and enjoys a particular celebrity among the portraitists of the seventeenth century. This is not solely because she was a woman in a profession dominated by men, rather it was because she competed so successfully with her male colleagues.

The painting offered is very typical of the artists style and has come from a private London collection and it was acquired by the previous owner from Christie's.


Condition report : In very good conditions having been restored with a few areas of generally well / blended retouching, the restoration work most likely within the last circa 40/ 59 years.

The painting has been lined and there is fine craquelure throughout. The paint surface is stable and the canvas is in good tension.

There are no patch repairs. The frame is from a later period and probably commissioned for the painting and is of a very good quality and in good condition . We are offering the frame as a gift ( see notes below) .


Please refer to the link below for a recent art and antiques magazine reference to this painting along with another painting which was sold by the previous owner who we were informed of by the auction house had acquired it at Christie's London some years before.

https://antique-collecting.co.uk/2023/09/08/portraits-associated-with-mary-beale-in-sale/


The frame that is included in the pictures above has been added to the artwork by a third party/the seller, as such it’s not an integral part of the object. The frame is being provided to you at no additional costs so that when your artwork arrives at your house you can immediately display it on your wall. As such any damages to the frame itself, that do not affect the integrity of the artwork, cannot be accepted as a valid reason to open a claim or request a cancellation. We would also point out that whilst we insure all paintings before shipping that we have no control over shipping once we have sent the painting .

The successful bidder will be responsible for paying any import duties and any associated VAT in the country of destination . Please refer to the auction terms regarding this before bidding. All of the art that we sell is insured for shipping ( subject to the above ). All shipping is professionally packed. . we have been getting most paintings shipped to most parts of the EU with 5 working days but we cannot guarantee this . We have on a couple of occasions experienced a few delays with customs in certain countries over the last few weeks.

Please Note: Studio/Gallery photos of paintings on an easel on the published material are intended only to represent accurately the size of the painting within that room environment. Also refer to the shipping costs and note the auctioneers disclaimer regarding potential customs charges .

We cannot calculate these as they are levied in the country of destination and the amount payable is determined by customs there and not by ourselves or the auctioneers. We have experienced some customs charging higher than expected import taxes; so we would advise bidders to attempt the establish the likely excise duties that your own National customs will charge you before bidding and committing to buy the painting. We must emphasise