English School, circa 1680

细节

English School, circa 1680

Portrait of the Poet, William Somerville (1675-1742), in a red mantle, holding a shepherd's staff in his right hand, a dog by his side

oil on canvas

50¼ x 40in. (127.6 x 101.6cm.)

来源

by descent in the family of the sitter.

出版

The Dictionary of National Biography, ed. by S. Lee, London, 1909, 21, p.665.

拍品专文

The sitter was the eldest son of Robert Somerville (d.1705) of Edstone and Elizabeth, his wife, eldest daughter of Sir Charles Wolseley, 2nd Bt. (d.1714) of Wolseley, Staffordshire. From 1705, the year of his father's death, he led the life of a country gentleman in Edstone, devoting much of his time to literature. His fame as a poet rests on The Chase, a poem of four books in blank verse, which appeared in 1735 and brought to life his favorite pastime.