Portrait of Sir Isaac Newton
Portrait of Sir Isaac Newton
ART.001211
Art
After 1719
London, (England)
English
Oil on Canvas
50 × 38.9 in. (127 × 99 cm); Framed: 53.9 × 44.8 in. (137 × 114 cm)
Not on View
This painting is based on Godfrey Kneller’s portrait of Sir Isaac Newton from 1719. Many copies were made of Kneller’s famous portraits by both the artist and, in this case, others who studied after him. Upon the death of previous owner Preston Davie, Davie’s widow donated this painting to the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. An inscription in the upper left corner of the painting identified the subject of the painting as architect Christopher Wren, but upon further inspection by curators and registrars at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation it was discovered that this inscription was a later addition and an incorrect identification. It was correctly identified as Sir Isaac Newton based upon exemplars from Kneller’s originals.
Created after 1719 by an unknown follower of Godfrey Kneller (1646-1723), London, England.[1] Acquired by Preston Davie (1881-1967), New York, New York; Via widowhood in 1967 to Eugenie Mary Ladenburg Davie (1895-1975); Donated after 1967 to the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Williamsburg, Virginia;[2] Purchased at auction in 2012 by Dr. Ted Steinbock, private collector, Louisville, Kentucky;[3] Purchased privately in 2020 by Museum of the Bible, Washington, DC.
Notes: [1] There is no date written on the painting, but after comparing this painting with that of Kneller’s 1719 original, it was determined to be “after 1719.” This was confirmed by collections documents obtained by Museum of the Bible from the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation in 2020. [2] Collections documents obtained from the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation list a credit line as “Gift of Preston Davie,” but no date accompanied the credit. Museum of the Bible research revealed that most of Davie’s collections were donated by his widow after his death in 1967. Therefore, it is likely this painting was donated after that date. [3] After discovering the painting was not a portrait of Christopher Wren, but rather Isaac Newton, the curators at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation decided to deaccession the portrait since it no longer fit with their history of the historic Wren Building on the campus of the College William and Mary. It was put up for auction through Northeast Auctions of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Lot No. 696 as “Portrait of Sir Isaac Newton, Follower of Sir Godfrey Kneller.”
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