Lot 255: CORNELIS JONSON VAN CEULEN

CORNELIS JONSON VAN CEULEN LONDON 1593 - 1661 UTRECHT PORTRAIT OF MARGARET, LADY HUNGERFORD (1596-1648) signed and dated lower left: C.J. fecit / 1633 oil on canvas 72.5 by 61.7 cm.; 281/2 by 24 3/8 in.

Acquired for the present collection from the Dorotheum, Vienna, circa 1970-71.

The sitter was the daughter of William Halliday, merchant and one time Lord Mayor of London. In 1620 she married Edward Hungerford, son of Sir Anthony Hungerford M.P. and his wife Lucy. Her husband inherited estates in Wiltshire, Somerset, Berkshire and Gloucestershire, and they lived at Corsham House and at Farleigh Castle. Edward Hungerford first entered Parliament in 1614 as M.P. for Wootton Bassett, and except for the year 1626 sat in every Parliament until his death in 1648. He was an enthusiastic supporter of Parliament during the Civil War, though his career as a military commander was rather undistinguished. In 1645 he accepted the surrender of his castle at Farleigh from his brother John who supported the king. He died at Farleigh Castle, and he and his wife were buried there in St Anne's Chapel in magnificent tombs with white marble effigies.