"Old Master Portrait Of Lady Margaret Aubrey Lowther C.1682-1692; By Michel Dahl, Oil On Canvas"
This elegant and graceful portrait was painted by Michael Dahl, whom by 1700 was the most successful painter in England - second only to Godfrey Kneller – who at his best, was capable of outperforming Kneller, Richardson, and Seeman. The portrait depicts Lady Margaret Lowther, a member of an ancient Westmoreland family who can trace their roots over 700 years, and it is amongst Dahl’s finest representations of aristocratic women.Born Lady Lowther on 27th April 1658 (baptised 12th May 1658) at Lowther, Westmoreland, Cumbria, England, she was the youngest daughter of Sir John Lowther, 1st Baronet, of Lowther (1605-1676), later 1st Baron Lonsdale (father of the 1st Lord Viscount Lonsdale), and his second wife Elizabeth Hare (1621-1699). Sir John 1st Baronet was the heir of an ancient (with lineage to Sir Hugh Lowther, a lawyer who represented Westmorland in 1305), but financially embarrassed, family. However, through his extensive enterprises he was spectacularly successful in turning the family fortunes around within ten years of his impoverished father’s death.
Lady Lowther married Sir John Aubrey (or Awbrey), 2nd Baronet of Llantrithyd (c.1650-1700) at Clerkenwell, London on 1st March 1679. Aubrey was the only surviving son of Sir John Aubrey, 1st Baronet, and his wife Mary South - he succeeded his father as baronet that same year and inherited the family seat of Llantrithyd, where the couple lived. Sir John and Lady Margaret often entertained and supported their cousin, the scientist, antiquarian and biographer, Sir John Aubrey (1626-1697), at Llantrithyd. The writer had eventually lost estate after estate due to lawsuits including his last property and ancestral home, Easton Piers. From Llantrithyd Aubrey wrote on 29 October 1695, to Lhwyd, ‘I am extremely caressed here by my noble Chief Sir JA where I am treated with all the varieties that the sea and land afford . . . In the afternoon we shove the Tankard and Bottle one to another in the bond of peace’.
Sir John and Lady Margaret had one son, John Aubrey (1680-1743), and he succeeded as the 3rd Baronet of Llantrithyd. Lady Margaret died sometime between 1690 and 1692. By 1692 Sir John had married again, this time to Mary Jephson (1653-1717), the daughter and heiress of William Lewis of The Van (Glamorgan) and owner of a substantial estate on the borders of Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire at Brill, Boarstall and Piddington. This marriage brought considerable estates and resources to the family. Both the 2nd and 3rd baronets appreciated the advantages of an estate so much closer to London than Llantrithyd. Sir John died at Boarstall in Buckinghamshire in 1700 following a riding accident and was buried at the Aubrey family seat Llantrithyd in Glamorgan. Although Mary survived her husband by many years, and married twice more, she had no children by any of her four marriages, and she bequeathed the Buckinghamshire estate to her stepson, Sir John Aubrey (1680-1743), the 3rd Baronet (and he subsequently made the manor at Boarstall his main home at this time). The 3rd baronet had a severe upbringing in the conservative traditions of the seventeenth century, from which he was released by the unexpected death of his father. He seems to have celebrated his new freedom by having an affair with his stepmother's maid, Mary Stealey, and it is frequently claimed that he got her pregnant and was forced to marry her on 20 June 1701 at St James's Church, Piccadilly, London. His second wife was Frances Jephson and his third wife was Jane Thomas.
Beautifully and meticulously rendered throughout, the sitter has been depicted seated in an outdoor setting resting one arm on a rock, the other holding a fold in her drapery, a romantic and peaceful sky, suggesting informality, in the background. Much of the attractiveness of this portrait resides in the graceful pose - and the beauty of the youthful sitter. Distracting jewellery or other props have not been used thereby creating an image of understated elegance. The portrait can be dated to between 1682 and 1692 based on the sitter’s attire and hairstyle, her age of 24 to 34 years when the portrait was painted, and the dates when Dahl was working in England at the time (1682 to 1685 and again in 1689 to 1695). The present portrait, along with a possible pendant of her husband, may have been painted to mark the occasion of her husband being made High Sheriff of Glamorganshire in 1685 (whether a pendant is extant is unknown).
The type of informal setting with its romantic appearance was taking shape in this period as an alternative to the French Baroque regular park. The pattern for this portrait was one that the artist often used when he discovered it to be successful - a common practise amongst studios at the time.
Indistinct text bottom right: “Margaret L??the? Wife of Sir”.
This work is an outstanding example. Held in an exquisite carved and gilded antique frame of good quality and condition.
Llantrithyd Place was one of the great sixteenth century mansions of Glamorganshire, first built from 1546 onwards for John Basset (d. 1551) and then altered and enlarged in the early seventeenth century for Sir Thomas Aubrey. It consisted of three two-storey ranges, each some 70 ft long, forming a courtyard open to the south-west.
Michael Dahl (1659-1743) was born in Stockholm and was a painter of exceptional talent. He studied with David Ehrenstrahl, the leading Swedish portrait painter of his day, before embarking on a tour of Europe in 1682 that included London, Paris and Rome. He first visited London and it is thought that he spent some time in Kneller's studio which was an influence on his work. Dahl’s female portraits are distinctly different with better drawing for the heads and a more elegant and straightforward portrait without the excessive use of props and other distracting elements that is often seen in the work of Sir Godfrey Kneller.
In 1698, he was offered the position of painter to the court of the Swedish King, Charles XII, but preferred to stay and settle permanently in London. A number of Dahl’s compatriots saw England as being relatively stable and prosperous compared to many European countries, and more welcoming than France, for example, of the Lutheran faith then prevalent in Sweden. There, he established a very successful studio, and by 1700 was the most successful painter in England, second only to Godfrey Kneller. His Scandinavian origins ensured patronage from Prince George of Denmark, and Queen Anne and members of the English court and he worked for the Duke of Somerset painting the Petworth 'Beauties' in the late 1690s. in 1712 he charged £50 for a full length. He died in London in 1743 leaving two daughters (his only son, also a painter, died about three years earlier).
Measurements: Height 151cm, Width 126cm framed (Height 60”, Width 49.5” framed)
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