This large mid-17th-century three-quarter length portrait attributed to English artist John Hayls (c.1600-1679) depicts the honourable Edward Russell (1625-1665).
Hayls was a prominent English portraitist, draughtsman, and miniaturist working during the tumult of the British Baroque period. He lived through two civil wars, Oliver Cromwell’s joyless Protectorate, and Charles II’s Restoration. A direct competitor of court-favourite Sir Peter Lely (1618-1680), he offered a pared-down alternative to the Dutchman’s grandiosity.
Scant details exist relating to his youth, but according to the antiquary, Richard Symonds (1617-1660), he probably trained under the portraitist Michiel van Mierevelt (1566-1641) at The Hague. Symonds documented how Hayls had mastered a technique of preparing vermilion following Mierevelt’s advice.
Very few examples of his early works are recorded but it’s possible that he was initially taken under the wing of a more established painter - in much the same way that Mary Beale (1633-1699), one of his contemporaries, is known to have assisted Lely. He was highly regarded for his convincing copies after Sir Anthony van Dyck (1599-1641) so it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that he was employed in his studio.
Towards the middle of the century, following the onset of Civil War, Hayls left for calmer shores. Arriving in Rome around 1651 before returning during the Cromwellian Commonwealth. Now into his 50s, his career gathered momentum and in 1658, he produced portraits of Lady Diana Russell and the particularly Rubenesque Lady Anne Russell, Countess of Bedford.
Here, in a three-quarter length work from around 1655, he’s depicted the Hon. Edward Russell, son of Francis Russell, 4th Earl of Bedford, wearing a buff jacket with gold sleeves, breastplate, and red sash. A helmet rests on a ledge alongside, with an imposing landscape beyond.
Edward Russell was the son of Francis Russell, 4th Earl of Bedford and Catherine Brydges. He married Penelope Hill, daughter of Sir Moyses Hill of Hillsborough Castle, and they had four children. One of these was Admiral Edward Russell, a Royal Navy officer and politician. Edward’s father Francis was an inventive pioneer, responsible for creating the iconic Covent Garden Piazza - together with Court architect, Inigo Jones.
It’s fascinating to consider how these portraits were conceived - with sitters adopting various stances, either inspired by a piece they admired or to convey various allegorical references. Usually, this is left to the imagination, but for Hayls, there’s first-hand evidence, thanks to the candid diary of naval administrator, Samuel Pepys. Pepys commissioned Hayls in 1666 and documented numerous meetings with the artist. Aside from a portrait of himself (wearing a rather ostentatious robe), he also requested portraits of his wife and father. We’ve published several extracts in our directory including the following entertaining snippets.
“Saturday 3 March 1666. Thence by coach to Hales’s, and there saw my wife sit; and I do like her picture mightily, and very like it will be, and a brave piece of work. But he do complain that her nose hath cost him as much work as another’s face, and he hath done it finely indeed. Thence home and late at the office, and then to bed.”
“Saturday 17 March 1666. This day I begun to sit, and he will make me, I think, a very fine picture. He promises it shall be as good as my wife’s, and I sit to have it full of shadows, and do almost break my neck looking over my shoulder to make the posture for him to work by.”
“Friday 30 March 1666. Thence home and eat one mouthful, and so to Hales’s, and there sat till almost quite darke upon working my gowne, which I hired to be drawn in; an Indian gowne, and I do see all the reason to expect a most excellent picture of it.”
A particularly interesting entry refers to the removal of an unwelcome landscape.
“Wednesday 18 April 1666. Took coach and to Mr. Hales, where he would have persuaded me to have had the landskipp stand in my picture, but I like it not and will have it otherwise, which I perceive he do not like so well, however is so civil as to say it shall be altered.”
Hayls was partial to adding a sense of Baroque majesty via a background landscape but clearly with Pepys, he had to paint it out. And to compound the issue, two years later he was asked to redo the hand of Elisabeth Pepys.
“Up and all the morning at the office busy, and after dinner to the office again busy till about four, and then I abroad (my wife being gone to Hales’s about drawing her hand new in her picture).”
Given this rather casual approach to formal portraiture, it’s interesting to contextualise the decision-making process for the depiction of Edward Russell. Unusually, the head and shoulders are contained within an oval, which appears to be attached to the rest. Stylistically, the brushwork is apparently by the same hand, so perhaps it was originally intended as a smaller piece but extended shortly after completion. Presumably, the Russells were so enamoured with it that they asked for an upgrade.
This remarkable historic piece was, until very recently, hanging in the palatial setting of Ombersley Court in Worcestershire and surrounded by a plethora of old masters. It remained in the family by descent for almost 400 years and we’ve added its provenance below. In the ‘Ombersley Court Catalogue of Pictures’, it’s recorded as by John Hayls and listed as on the Main Staircase.
Appraised by Christie’s in 2023 at £7,000-£10,000.
Held within a later gilt frame.
Learn more about John Hayls in our directory.
Medium: Oil on canvas
Overall size: 59” x 58½” / 150cm x 149cm
Year of creation: c. 1655
Labels & Inscriptions: Inscribed lower left, ‘The Hono.ble Edward Russell / 4.th Son to Francis Earle / of Bedford'.
Provenance: (Presumably) by descent to the sitter's son / Admiral Edward Russell, 1st Earl of Orford (1652-1727) / By descent to his great-niece, Letitia Tipping (1699-1779), wife of Samuel Sandys, 1st Baron Sandys (1695-1770) / By descent to their son, Edwin Sandys, 2nd Baron Sandys (1726-1797) / By inheritance to his niece, Mary, Marchioness of Downshire and 1st Baroness Sandys (1764-1836) / By descent to her second son, Lieutenant-General Arthur Hill, 2nd Baron Sandys (1792-1860) / By inheritance to his younger brother, Arthur Marcus Sandys, 3rd Baron Sandys (1798-1863) / Thence by descent in the family to Richard Hill, 7th Baron Sandys (1931-2013), at Ombersley Court, Worcestershire.
Condition: Assessed and approved by our conservator. Canvas relined. Fine and settled craquelure, as you would expect. The paint layer is stable. 19th-century stretcher. Visible oval whereby a smaller portrait has probably been extended. Visible horizontal line running across the lower quarter. Historic repairs. Age-related darkening.
Artist’s auction maximum: £20,000 for ‘Three-Quarter Length Portrait Of The Fourth Viscount Of Kilmorey’, Oil on canvas, Edinburgh, 2010 (lot 24).
Our reference: BRV1893
