Sale Pamono Antique Portrait of William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle Upon Tyne

Antique portrait titled ‘William Cavendish Duke of Newcastle’. William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle upon Tyne, KG, KB, PC (c.?16 December 1593 – 25 December 1676) was an English courtier and supporter of the arts. He was a renowned horse breeder, as well as being patron of the playwright Ben Jonson, and the intellectual group known as the Welbeck Circle. This print originates from Thomas Birch’s ‘The Heads of Illustrious Persons of Great Britain’. The portraits featured in the series, which were engraved by Jacob Houbraken and George Vertue, were originally issued from 1737 onwards in portfolios of four portraits. Between 1743 and 1752, the series was published by John and Paul Knapton in London in the form of Birch’s The Heads of Illustrious Persons of Great Britain, and contained biographies alongside the portraits. The number of plates included varied from edition to edition. Although the majority contained 108 plates, some editions contained as many as 120. Houbraken was responsible for producing a large proportion of the portraits, with Vertue only engraving around seven. The ornamental surroundings featured on the plates were engraved prior to the portraits, and were done so by Hubert-François Gravelot.