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Commissioned by Thomas Smythe (1522–1591), of London, Ashford and Westenhanger, Kent, father of the sitter, Sir John Smythe (ca. 1557-1608), from Cornelis Ketel (1548–1616), the artist; by descent to Thomas Smythe’s widow, Alice Smythe (née Judde, ca. 1532-1593) of London, Ashford and Westenhanger, Kent [a]; by descent to her son, Thomas Smythe (ca. 1558–1625) of Philpot Lane, London, and Bounds Place, Bidborough, Kent; by descent to his third wife, Sarah Smythe (née Blount, d. 1656) of Brook Place in Sutton-at-Hone, Kent; by descent to her nephew, John Smythe (1597-1656) of Highgate, Hornsey, Middlesex [1][b]; by descent to his son, Robert Smythe Esq. (ca. 1650–1696) of Bounds Place, Bidborough, Kent and Dover Castle, Kent; by descent to his son, Henry Smythe (ca. 1677-1706) of Old Bounds, Bidborough, Kent; by descent to his son Sir Sidney Stafford Smythe (1705-1778) of Old Bounds, Bidborough, and Sutton-at-Hone, Kent [c]; by descent to his widow, Lady Sarah Smythe (née Farnaby, 1712-1790) of St George Hanover Square, London; purchased by “Norton” at auction, Christie’s, June 16, 1791 (lot 11, ‘fourteen heads, portraits, various’), in “A Catalogue of the Valuable Collection of Italian, French, Flemish and Dutch Pictures” [2] [d]; possibly purchased by Sir Lionel Smythe, 5th Viscount Strangford (1753-1801); by descent to his son, Sir Percy Smythe, 6th Viscount Strangford (1780-1855); by descent to his son, George Smythe, 7th Viscount Strangford (1818-1857); by descent to his brother Percy Smythe, 8th Viscount Strangford (1825-1869); by descent to his brother-in-law Henry James Baillie (1803-1885) of Redcastle, Scotland and London, England [3][e]; possibly by descent to his daughter Elizabeth Ellen Grant (née Baillie, 1847-1887) of Belgravia, London and her husband Sir Charles Grant (1836-1903) of Belgravia, London [4];...; acquired by Edward Montagu, 8th Earl of Sandwich (1839-1916) by 1910, of Hinchingbrooke, Huntingdon, England [f]; by descent to his nephew, George Charles Montagu, 9th Earl of Sandwich (1874-1962), of Hinchingbrooke, Huntingdon, England; purchased at auction by ‘Huggins’, at Christie, Manson, & Wood, March 4, 1927 (Lot 13 “Portrait of Sir John Smyth, Kt., of Ostenhanger, Kent, aged 23, High Sheriff of the County of Kent, in white doublet, with white ruff”, attributed to Gheeraedts) in “Catalogue of Pictures by Old Masters, the property of the Right Hon. The Earl of Sandwich” [g]; ...; acquired by Haliburton Stanley Mortimer (1879-1957) of 9 Queen's Gate Gardens, later 76 Sloane Street, London [5]; probably by descent to his widow, Dorothy Frances Mortimer (née Blackwell, ca. 1885-1968) of 15 Eastburt Court Holland Rd, London; …; purchased by Paul Mellon (1907-1999); by whom gifted to the Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, CT, 1973.

Notes:
[1] This inheritance is documented in Sarah’s Will, “as part of the ‘foureteene pictures […] Customer Smith and his wife, and of their sixe sonnes and sixe daughters’” See Will of Sarah, Countess of Leicester, proved March 13, 1656/6 [TNA PROB 11/253/638]. The John Smythe referred to here was the son of Robert Smythe and Ann Lynford.

[2] Inscribed in the auction catalog alongside lots 11 and 12 appears to be the name Lady Smith (?), presumably to indicate that these two works came from her collection rather than that of the dentist Jacob Hemett (ca. 1727-1790), whose collection is the primary focus of this catalog. On the left hand page the catalog appears to show that a “Norton” purchased the work. https://archive.org/details/frick-31072002711143/mode/2up

[3] Henry James Baillie married Viscount Strangford’s oldest surviving sister Philippa Eliza Sydney Smythe (1819-1854). The couple had two daughters, but all their sons predeceased their father and thus the family estate, Redcastle in Scotland, passed onto Baillie’s nephew, James Evan Bruce Baillie of Dochfour (1859-1931), according to Baillie’s obituary in the Dundee Evening Telegraph, December 17, 1885. The other paintings related to this work, all by Cornelis Ketel of the Smythe family, passed on to Baillie’s daughter though.

[4] This portrait belonged to a set of works by Cornelis Ketel, depicting the Smythe family. Most of these passed from Baillie’s estate to his daughter. This line of descent is shared in Karen Hearn, “Alice Smythe (née Judde) in ed. Karen Hearn, Dynasties: Painting in Tudor and Jacobean England 1530-1630. London: Tate Publishing, 1995, pp. 108. However, it is unclear if this portrait passed on to Elizabeth Ellen Grant and her husband following Baillie’s death, or if it was acquired by the Earl of Sandwich closer to 1884, the year he acquired Hinchingbrooke and one year prior to Henry James Baillie’s death.

[5] A label on the painting’s verso reads “H.S. Mortimer ESQ / Draw Rm”, indicating Haliburton Stanly Mortimer’s ownership of the work and perhaps the room it was located in at his estate.

Citations:
[a] British Library Egerton Roll 8797

[b] Will of Sarah, Countess of Leicester, proved March 13, 1656/6 [TNA PROB 11/253/638]

[c] British Library Add MS 5726 E2

[d] Christie’s, June 16, 1791 “A Catalogue of the Valuable Collection of Italian, French, Flemish and Dutch Pictures”, lot 11 https://search.worldcat.org/title/1007175014

[e] Karen Hearn, Dynasties: Painting in Tudor and Jacobean England 1530-1630. London: Tate Publishing, 1995, p. 108

[f] Edward George Henry Montagu Sandwich, “Hinchingbrooke” London: Arthur L. Humphreys: 1910, p. 43 https://www.google.com/books/edition/Hinchingbrooke/gX1ZAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=Smyth

[g] Christie, Manson, & Wood, March 4, 1927, “Catalogue of Pictures by Old Masters, the property of the Right Hon. The Earl of Sandwich” https://bibliotheque-numerique.inha.fr/viewer/65294/?offset=#page=1&viewer=picture&o=bookmarks&n=0&q=