Sir Godfrey Kneller (1646-1723), Portrait of Thomas Pelham-Holles, first Duke of Newcastle

SIR GODFREY KNELLER (1646-1723)
Portrait of Thomas Pelham-Holles, first Duke of Newcastle (1693-1768)
1722
Oil on canvas
76 x 63cm
Signed and dated 'Kneller/1722'

Provenance
Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle;
Henry Cressent-Pelham (1729?-1803);
Frances Cressett Pelham (d.1836) and Rev. George Ausustus Thursby (1771-1836);
Rev. Henry Thursby-Pelham (born 1801, died 1878) of Cound Hall, Shropshire;
Walter Harvey Thursby-Pelham (1830-1874);
James Augustine Harvey Thursby-Pelham (1869-1947);
Thence by descent until sold, Sworders, Stansted Mountfitchet, ‘Old Master, British and European Art’, 19 May 2026, lot 182;
When acquired by Whiteman’s Fine Art.

Note
Dressed in a striking crimson velvet coat, this portrait of Thomas Pelham-Holles, first Duke of Newcastle, was painted by Sir Godfrey Kneller in 1722. Most of Kneller’s portraits from this period were completed with the help of studio assistants. By contrast, the present work, signed and dated lower left, is wholly by Kneller’s hand, and is characterised by the recognisable bravura brushwork of the master.

Depicted here at the age of twenty-nine, Newcastle was five years into his term as Lord Chamberlain, the most important and powerful of the court offices, and a post he would hold from 1717 until 1724. Newcastle’s political career would span more than half a century, covering the period that would come to be known as the Whig Supremacy (1714-60). From the first, he exercised great energy in the championing of the Whig cause and expressed a deep devotion to the Hanoverian succession. As a young man of nineteen and member of the Hanoverian Club, he organised and participated in parades and demonstrations where Hanoverian and Protestant slogans were chanted and effigies of the Pope were burned. It would not be long before he put his wealth and influence to more effective political use. During the 1715 General Election, which returned an overwhelming Whig majority, Newcastle used his power to influence elections in his estates across the country. His efforts resulted in the election of at least fourteen committed Whigs to the House of Commons, one of whom, Spencer Compton, would be made Speaker. When, in the same year, came the threat of a Jacobite invasion, Newcastle, in his role as lord-lieutenant of Nottingham and Middlesex, was responsible for preserving peace in those counties. Under his orders, around eight hundred men were arrested and questioned, and self-styled ‘Newcastle mobs’ of Hanoverian supporters took to the streets against their Jacobite rivals. For his service, George I rewarded him with a string of noble titles, including the Dukedom of Newcastle, which had previously been held by his uncle, John Holles (1662-1711).

On 2 April 1717, Newcastle married Lady Harriet Godolphin, daughter of Francis Godolphin, second Earl of Godolphin (1645-1712) and granddaughter of John Churchill, first Duke of Marlborough (1650-1722). Less than a fortnight later, he was made Lord Chamberlain. Now in high office, Newcastle would remain at the centre of British politics for the following five decades. He served as Secretary of State for the Southern Department (1724-48), Secretary of State for the Northern Department (1748-54), and presided over matters, such as the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748), which brought about an end to the War of the Austrian Succession. In 1754, following the death of his brother, Henry Pelham, Newcastle succeeded him in the role of Prime Minister, a position he held between 1754-1756 and again between 1757-1762. His dismissal by George III in 1762, the last time a Prime Minister was removed by a monarch due to personal dislike, effectively marked the end of the Whigs’ control of government, which had remained unbroken since the Hanoverian Succession in 1714.

The concrete circumstances surrounding the commission of the present work are not known. Given, however, that both Kneller and Newcastle were members of the Kit-cat Club, for whom Kneller painted the well-known eponymous series of portraits, it may be assumed that the commission arose out of their social-political affiliation and friendship. That the present portrait was painted without input from Kneller’s many studio assistants suggests a closeness and sympathy between painter and sitter. This is bolstered by the fact the present work formed a pair with Kneller’s portrait of Newcastle’s sister, Lady Lucy Pelham-Holles, Countess of Lincoln. In harmonious contrast to Newcastle’s crimson coat, his sister is depicted wearing a blue dress. The comparative sobriety of outfit in this portrait and its pair, coupled with the sensitivity with which Kneller has approached his respective sitters’ faces, suggests the commission’s focus was on familial closeness rather than on aristocratic display.

Newcastle died in 1768. Leaving no children, the dukedom was inherited by his nephew, Henry Pelham-Clinton, ninth Earl of Lincoln (1720-94). The present portrait passed along various branches of the Pelham family, before entering the distinguished collection of James Thursby-Pelham (1869-1947), from whom it passed by direct descent until it was sold at auction in May 2026.