Katherine Stanhope (née Wotton), later Countess of Chesterfield, and Lucy Hastings (née Davies), Countess of Huntingdon

Sir Anthony Van Dyck, and studio, 1599–1641, Flemish, active in Britain (1620–21; 1632–34; 1635–41), Katherine Stanhope (née Wotton), later Countess of Chesterfield, and Lucy Hastings (née Davies), Countess of Huntingdon, 1636 to 1640

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Creator:: Sir Anthony Van Dyck, 1599–1641
Title:: Katherine Stanhope (née Wotton), later Countess of Chesterfield, and Lucy Hastings (née Davies), Countess of Huntingdon [2024, YCBA]
Former Title(s):: Katherine, Countess of Chesterfield, and Lucy, Countess of Huntingdon
Date:: 1636 to 1640
Medium:: Oil on canvas
Dimensions:: 51 1/4 x 59 1/4 inches (130.2 x 150.5 cm)
Credit Line:: Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection
Copyright Status:: Public Domain
Accession Number:: B1981.25.252
Classification:: Paintings
Collection:: Paintings and Sculpture
Link to Frame:: B1981.25.252FR
Subject Terms:: chair | conversation piece | dress | English Civil War (1642-1649) | foliage | hair | lace | landscape | leaning | lute | musical instrument | pearl | portrait | rocks (landforms) | seated | women
Associated People:: Stanhope, Katherine (née Wotton; other married name van der Kerckhove), suo jure countess of Chesterfield, and Lady Stanhope (bap. 1609, d. 1667)
Hastings, Lucy (née Davies), countess of Huntingdon (1613–1679)
Access:: Not on view
Note: To make an appointment to see this work, please contact the Paintings and Sculpture department at ycba.paintings@yale.edu. Please visit the Paintings and Sculpture collections page on our website for more details.
Link:: https://collections.britishart.yale.edu/catalog/tms:755
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The Flemish painter Anthony Van Dyck settled in England in 1633 as Principal Painter in Ordinary to Charles I and was honored quickly with a knighthood. He ran a busy studio in order to produce the vast quantity of portraits demanded by English patrons, who were eager to see themselves represented with a new elegance and refinement. In this double portrait of Lady Chesterfield (standing) and Lady Huntington (seated), the handling of the paint and the sumptuous coloring evoke the manner of Titian (ca. 1488–1576), the great Venetian painter whose work was highly prized by English connoisseurs. Although the lute symbolizes harmony between the two sitters, circumstances soon conspired to produce discord. The sitters’ husbands backed opposing sides in the English Civil War (1642–51): Philip, first Earl of Chesterfield (1583/84–1656), supporting the king; Ferdinando, sixth Earl of Huntington (1608–1655), siding with Parliament.

Gallery label for installation of YCBA collection, 2016

Connections (Yale Center for British Art, 2011-05-26 - 2011-09-11) [YCBA Objects in the Exhibition]

Susan J. Barnes, Van Dyck, a complete catalogue of the paintings , The Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art, New Haven, 2004, pp. 488-489, Cat.No. IV.74, IV.74., NJ18 D985 A12 B27 2004 + (YCBA) [YCBA]

Malcolm Cormack, Concise Catalogue of Paintings in the Yale Center for British Art, Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, CT, 1985, pp. 90-91, N590.2 A83 (YCBA) [YCBA]

Erik Larsen, The paintings of Anthony Van Dyck, Luca Verlafg, Freren [Germany), 1988, v. 2, , p.481, cat. no. A206, A206, NJ18 D985 L38 1988 OVERSIZE (YCBA) [YCBA]

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