Skip to Main Content

Overview

In this Arcadian portrait, Anthony van Dyck pictures Philip, 4th Baron Wharton, standing before a shimmering green drapery against a rocky backdrop, while holding a shepherd's houlette in the crook of his arm. His regal pose and his sumptuous attire with its rich golden-yellow, purple, and emerald tones convey both grace and elegance, while his gaze exudes self-confidence.

Eldest son of a staunch Puritan, Wharton succeeded his grandfather, also named Philip, to become the fourth Baron Wharton. After attending Oxford University and traveling abroad with his siblings, Lord Wharton spent part of the summer of 1631 in The Hague at the court of the Prince of Orange, Frederik Hendrik, presumably becoming involved with the Dutch cause, due to his strong Protestant background. In The Hague, Lord Wharton would have met the exiled King and Queen of Bohemia, Frederick V of the Palatinate and Elizabeth Stuart, sister of King Charles I, thereby fostering his relationship with the English king. Thanks to this relationship, Wharton became the first Englishman other than the king to commission a portrait from Anthony van Dyck after the Flemish master moved to London in 1632.

Inscription

lower left: P.Sr Ant: vandike; lower right: Philip Lord Wharton / 1632 about ye age / of 19.

Provenance

Philip Wharton, 4th baron Wharton, [1613-1696], Wharton Hall, near Kirkby Stephen, Westmorland, or Healaugh, West Riding, Yorkshire, until 1637; after 1637 in Wooburn, near High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire; by inheritance to his son, Thomas Wharton, 5th baron and 1st marquess of Wharton [1648-1716], Winchendon, near Aylesbury; by inheritance to his son, Philip Wharton, 1st and last duke of Wharton [1699-1731], Winchendon, near Aylesbury;[1] purchased 1725 by Sir Robert Walpole, 1st earl of Orford and Prime Minister under George I and George II [1676-1745], Houghton Hall, Norfolk; by inheritance to his son, Robert Walpole, 2nd earl of Orford [1700-1751], Houghton Hall; by inheritance to his son, George Walpole, 3rd earl of Orford [1730-1791], Houghton Hall;[2] acquired with the Walpole collection in 1779, through Count Aleksei Semonovich Musin-Pushkin, Russian ambassador to England, by Catherine II, empress of Russia [1729-1796], for the Imperial Hermitage Gallery, Saint Petersburg;[3] purchased March 1930 through (Matthiesen Gallery, Berlin; P. & D. Colnaghi & Co., London; and M. Knoedler & Co., New York) by Andrew W. Mellon, Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C.; deeded 30 March 1932 to The A.W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust, Pittsburgh;[4] gift 1937 to NGA.

Exhibition History

1899
Van Dyck Tentoonstelling ter gelegenheid der 300e verjaring der beboorte van den Meester, Museum van Schoone Kunsten, Antwerp, 1899, no. 85.
1900
Exhibition of Works by Van Dyck 1599-1641. Winter Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1900, no. 61.
1990
Anthony van Dyck, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1990-1991, no. 63, color repro.
1996
Houghton Hall: The Prime Minister, The Empress and The Heritage, Castle Museum Norwich; Kenwood House, London, 1996-1997, no. 26, repro.
2001
The Theatrical Baroque, David and Alfred Smart Museum of Art, University of Chicago, 2001, no. 16, fig. 4.
2014
Houghton Hall: Portrait of an English Country House, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; California Palace of the Legion of Honor, The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco; Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Nashville, 2014-2015, unnumbered catalogue, repro.

Bibliography

1909
Wrangell, Baron Nicolas. Les Chefs-d'Oeuvre de la Galérie de Tableaux de l'Hermitage Impérial à St-Pétersbourg. London, 1909: repro. 86.
1941
Preliminary Catalogue of Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1941: 204, no. 50, pl. XIII.
1942
Book of Illustrations. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1942: 240, repro. 40.
1944
Cairns, Huntington, and John Walker, eds. Masterpieces of Painting from the National Gallery of Art. New York, 1944: 94, color repro.
1949
Paintings and Sculpture from the Mellon Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1949 (reprinted 1953 and 1958): 70, repro.
1963
Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. New York, 1963 (reprinted 1964 in French, German, and Spanish): 311, repro.
1965
Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 46.
1966
Cairns, Huntington, and John Walker, eds. A Pageant of Painting from the National Gallery of Art. 2 vols. New York, 1966: 2:280, color repro.
1968
Gandolfo, Giampaolo et al. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Great Museums of the World. New York, 1968: 13.
1968
National Gallery of Art. European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. Washington, 1968: 40, repro.
1975
European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 118, repro.
1979
Watson, Ross. The National Gallery of Art, Washington. New York, 1979: 67, pl. 52.
1984
Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 264, no. 338, color repro.
1985
European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 144, repro.
1991
Kopper, Philip. America's National Gallery of Art: A Gift to the Nation. New York, 1991: 91, 92, color repro.
1994
Parry, Graham. "Van Dyck and the Caroline Court Poets." Studies in the History of Art 46 (1994): 252, repro. no. 5.
1994
Rogers, Malcolm. "Van Dyck's Portrait of Lord George Stuart, Seigneur d'Aubigny, and Some Related Works." Studies in the History of Art 46 (1994): 263, 268-269, 272, repro. no. 10.
1997
Toman, Rolf. Die Kunst des Barock : Architektur, Skulptur, Malerei, 1997, p.480, repro.
1998
Gibson, Sarah S. “Shepherds/Shepherdesses." In Encyclopedia of Comparative Iconography: Themes Depicted in Works of Art. Edited by Helene E. Roberts. 2 vols. Chicago, 1998: 2:821, 823.
2004
Barnes, Susan J. Van Dyck: A Complete Catalogue of the Paintings. New Haven, 2004: IV.237
2005
Wheelock, Arthur K., Jr. Flemish Paintings of the Seventeenth Century. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 2005: 80-83, color repro.
2009
Odom, Anne, and Wendy R. Salmond, eds. Treasures into Tractors: The Selling of Russia's Cultural Heritage, 1918-1938. Washington, D.C., 2009: 90, 103 n. 44, 135 n. 62.
2013
Semyonova, Natalya, and Nicolas V. Iljine, eds. Selling Russia's Treasures: The Soviet Trade in Nationalized Art 1917-1938. New York and London, 2013: 138, 139, 178, repro.
2016
Jaques, Susan. The Empress of Art: Catherine the Great and the Transformation of Russia. New York, 2016: 397, color fig.
2020
Libby, Alexandra. “From Personal Treasures to Public Gifts: The Flemish Painting Collection at the National Gallery of Art.” In America and the Art of Flanders: Collecting Paintings by Rubens, Van Dyck, and their Circles, edited by Esmée Quodbach. The Frick Collection Studies in the History of Art Collecting in America 5. University Park, 2020: 133.

Related Content

  • Sort by:
  • Results layout:
Show  results per page
The image compare list is empty.