19th May, 2026 10:00
Old Master, British and European Art
55
Enoch Seeman (British, 1690-1744)
Portrait of Sir Joseph Danvers with his wife and children,
he standing full-length in a brown coat, pointing to his wife who is seated, three-quarter-length, in a blue dress, her three children around her, a view of parkland beyond, oil on canvas, in a carved giltwood frame
153 x 183cm, framed 169 x 200cm
Provenance:Probably commissioned by Sir Joseph Danvers (1686-1753), 1st Baronet, Swithland Hall, Leicestershire;
thence by descent through the Danvers family to Mary Danvers;
her marriage to Augustus Richard Butler, son of Brinsley Butler, 2nd Earl of Lanesborough, and to their son, 5th Earl of Lanesborough;
thence by descent to Denis, 9th Earl of Lanesborough from whom purchased circa 1978 by his nephew Francis Valentine.
The Danvers family of Swithland, Leicestershire was a well‑established line of landed gentry by the first half of the 18th century. Sir Joseph Danvers, 1st Baronet (1686-1753) married Frances Babington (1694-1759) at St Paul’s Cathedral in 1721. Sir Joseph was an active Whig politician, serving as Member of Parliament for several constituencies between 1722 and 1747, and was created a baronet in 1746. The family seat, Swithland Hall, lay at the heart of the Leicestershire estates long associated with the Danvers name and remained a visible symbol of their position within the political and social elite.
Following the gradual extinction of the direct male Danvers line, the family’s estates, associations and heirlooms passed through the female line into allied noble families. Of particular significance is the marriage of Mary Danvers, granddaughter of Sir Joseph, to Augustus Richard Butler, later known as Butler‑Danvers, a younger son of Brinsley Butler, 2nd Earl of Lanesborough. Their son George (1794-1866) succeeded as 5th Earl of Lanesborough, uniting the Danvers inheritance with that of the Butler family. It was he who commissioned the building of a new mansion to replace an earlier residence. Through this descent, the two portrait groups of the Danvers family and the single portrait of one of the daughters entered the collections of the Earls of Lanesborough, they remained at Swithland until the late 1970s when they were purchased by Francis Anthony Brinsley ('Jimmy') Valentine, nephew of Denis, the 9th Earl.
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Sold for £4,800
Condition Report
Relined. Craquelure. Light surface dust and dirt. There are numerous small scattered spots of retouching visible to the background. Under normal lighting conditions retouching is visible to the mother's forehead and chest. A further patch of overpainting shows at the bottom of the girl's red dress. There is some thinning to the paint on the faces. Examined under UV light, the rose in in the wreath in the lower right corner appears to be heavily overpainted. There is some retouching to the gentleman's hand and the middle child's wrist. A patch of overpainting flouresces to the background in the upper centre. There is a little fine infilling in places, including to the mother's forearm, the seated child's sleeve and the arm and chest of the child in the lower right. Under UV the gentleman's face appears a little patchy and uneven and it is unclear if this is the varnish or possibly overpainting. Please see additional images.
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Auction: Old Master, British and European Art, 19th May, 2026
Viewing
London Viewing | Highlights
A selection of lots will be on view Tuesday 21 April - Friday 1 May at our London Gallery, 15 Cecil Court, London WC2N 4EZ, as follows:
Monday-Friday, 11am - 5.30pm
Saturday - Closed
Sunday - Closed
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Stansted Viewing | Auction
Viewing will be held at our Stansted Auction Rooms, Cambridge Road, Stansted Mountfitchet CM24 8GE, as follows:
Friday 15 May, 10am - 4pm
Sunday 17 May, 10am - 1pm
Monday 18 May, 10am - 4pm
All lots are, however, extensively illustrated and carry detailed condition reports - see 'Condition report' at the foot of each lot description.
The auction will take place at our Stansted Auction Rooms, Cambridge Road, Stansted Mountfitchet CM24 8GE.
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