JOHN VANDERBANK (BRITISH 1694-1739)PORTRAIT OF ARTHUR BARNARDISTON ESQOil on canvas, painted ovalSigned and dated 1733 and later inscribed with sitter's name and date of death 'ob. 1737' (lower left)75.5 x 63cm (29½ x 24¾ in.)Provenance: The Barnardiston family at Brightwell Hall until brought to Weston Hall in 1744Thence by descent at Weston Hall. Literature:Sir George Sitwell, A brief history of Weston Hall, Northamptonshire, and of the families that possessed it, London, privately printed 1927, p. 44.F. Sitwell, Weston Hall, Towcester, Northamptonshire: A Brief Guide, Northampton, 1993, p. 5.Catalogue Note:This portrait of Arthur Barnardiston (d. 1737) was painted a year after his marriage in 1732 to Mary Jennens (d. 1788) of Weston Hall. In 1726, Barnardiston was a resident of Smyrna in Turkey where he was involved in the Levant Trade, specifically the importing and exporting of cloth, and later, the insurance of ships sailing to the East, a highly profitable business he remained in until his death in 1737. Following his inheritance of Brightwell Hall, Suffolk, from his older brother, he returned to England to claim his legacy, and in 1731, was making improvements to the Brightwell estate. For the mansion, he acquired paintings from the Low Countries and France, cabinets from Italy, and a collection of Chinese porcelain (Sir George Sitwell, A brief history of Weston Hall, Northamptonshire, and of the families that possessed it, London, privately printed 1927, p. 43). Arthur and Mary Barnardiston divided their time between Brightwell and a house in Bedford Row, London depending on the season. In 1744, this portrait, together with most of the Barnardiston pictures, was removed from Brightwell, and in 1773, they arrived at Weston Hall. John Vanderbank (1694-1739) was an English painter and illustrator of Dutch origin, who from 1711 to 1720 worked at the court painter, Godfrey Kneller's Academy before establishing his own school in St. Martin's Lane with fellow artist, Louis Chéron. As a portrait painter, he undertook Royal commissions including George I (1726; Windsor Castle, Berkshire, RCIN 404412) and Queen Caroline (1736; Goodwood House, West Sussex), in addition to other notable figures such as Sir Isaac Newton (1725; version, London, Royal Society) and Thomas Guy (London, Guy's Hospital).