Robert Rich (1587-1658), 2nd Earl of Warwick

Oil painting (unframed). This is a copy of BHC3080 (acquired in 1949). When it was made is not known but it was presented to the Naval Gallery of Greenwich Hospital in or about 1825. The last edition of the printed Gallery catalogue (HMSO 1922, p. 50) says the donor was Thomas [Pelham], first Earl of Chichester, but since he died in 1805 this is presumably an error and it probably came from his son Thomas, the second earl (1756-1826) who was a prominent politician. On 2 July 1825 the Secretary of Greenwich Hospital informed the Board that both this painting and a portrait of Admiral Edward Boscawen were both available as gifts to the Gallery if he could have Board permission to apply for them to their owners (ADM67/74, f. 120). The Boscawen, a copy after Reynolds, arrived from the Earl of Dartmouth in October 1828 (BHC2565) but there appears to be no note of when this one reached Greenwich. It also arrived as a copy 'after Vandyck', which remained the attribution into the 1922 catalogue. The assumption hitherto made that it dates to around 1825 (i.e. specifically copied as a gift for the Gallery) has no foundation and whether it is in fact an early Mytens studio version or a later copy remains to be determined. [PvdM 3/12]

Object Details

ID: BHC3081
Collection: Fine art
Type: Painting
Display location: Not on display
Creator: Studio of Daniel Mytens the Elder
Date made: Possibly 1825
People: Rich, Robert; Pelham, Thomas
Credit: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, Greenwich Hospital Collection
Measurements: Painting: 2390 mm x 1482 mm x 35 mm