Sunday 17 January 2016

The British Museum and Garrick Club Terracotta Busts of Shakespeare by Roubiliac (part 5). The British Museum Bust.

 The British Museum Terracotta Bust of William Shakespeare (1554 - 1616).
by Louis Francois Roubiliac (1702 - 62).


Purchased from the Roubiliac Sale in May 1762 by Dr Matthew Matey.

All the above photographs lifted from the British Museum Website.
Bust of William Shakespeare
Louis Francois Roubiliac
Terracotta.
578 mm tall.
© Trustees of the British Museum.
Provenance: Bought by Dr Matthew Matey at the Posthumous Roubiliac Sale held at the Studio in St Martin's Lane by Langfords of the Piazza Covent Garden.
 The only copy of the Roubiliac Sale Catalogue so far discovered is in the Finberg Collection at the British Museum. Unfortunately there is no annotation.
 This bust is either lot 73 or lot 83 on the second day 13 May 1762, or lot 86 on the Third day 14 May 1762.
For more on this bust and the other busts purchased by Dr Matthew Maty at the Roubiliac sale and now in the British Museum see: Portrait Sculpture, A Catalogue of the British Museum Collection. c 1675 -1975, Aileen Dawson, pub. British Museum Press, 1999.
See my previous post for more on the Garrick Club Terracotta.

The British Museum and Garrick Club Terracotta Busts of Shakespeare by Roubiliac (part 4). Langfords Posthumous sale of the Contents of the Roubiliac Workshop and the Busts of Shakespeare.


Langfords Sale of the Contents of the Roubiliac Workshop and the Representations of Shakespeare.


 The Langfords four day Sale Catalogue the Roubiliac Workshop of May 1762 mentions a mould, and various busts and figures of Shakespeare.

It should be noted that there were three terracotta busts of Shakespeare in this sale.



First Day's Sale, Wednesday May 12th.

 Under the heading - SUNDRIES in Plaister

Lot 38 A Figure of Shakespear


Under the heading - MOULDS in Plaister for the following figures Busts, Basso Relievo's &s

Lot 50. Shakespear


Under the heading - FIGURES in Plaister

Lot 57. Shakespear

Lot 63. Shakespear



Under the heading - DESIGNS for monuments Basso Relievo's &c.


Lot 74. A figure of Shakespear



Under the heading  - PICTURES &c

Lot 95. A figure of Shakespear in plaster



Second Days Sale, Thursday May 13th



Under the heading BUSTS in Terra cotta.

Lot 73. Shakespear

Lot 83. Shakespear



Third Day's Sale, Friday May 14th



Under the heading - BUSTS and Heads in Plaister

Lot 9. Shakespeare



Under the heading - MOULDS in Plaister for the following figures busts etc.

Lot 51. The figure of Shakespeare

Lot 55. Shakespear



Under the heading - BUSTS in Terra Cotta.

Lot 86. Shakespear



Fourth Day's Sale, Saturday May 15th.



Under the heading - BUSTS in Plaister.

Lot 5. Shakespear



Under the heading - Sundries in Plaister

Lot 32. A figure of Shakespear and two boys.



Under the heading - Marble BUSTS etc

Lot 74. Shakespear (probably the Fordam/ Folger Library marble bust)



Italics used above as in Esdaile

The British Museum and Garrick Club Terracotta Busts of Shakespeare by Roubiliac (part 3). The Davenant Bust and its 'Discovery'


The Garrick Club 'Davenant' Terracotta bust
of William Shakespeare
and the story of its Discovery.

The myth of its discovery bricked up in the Duke's Theatre in Portugal street has been exploded by Marcus Risdell who has discovered documentary proof that it came from the garden of 39 Portugal Row - the terrace on the South side of Lincolns Inn Fields.   

The 'Davenent bust' - is so called after Sir William Davenant (1606 - 68) who was the proprietor of the Dukes Theatre in Portugal Street, Lincoln's Inn Fields 1660 until his death in 1668, (Portugal Street runs parallel with Portugal Row the South side of Lincolns Inn Fields).

 This Communication below from Marcus Risdell, Curator of Works of Art at the Garrick Club.

 'Roubiliac original terracotta bust 1) Garrick Club bust, (rediscovered by William Clift, first curator of the Hunterian Museum) in 1834 (source is Clift's papers held at Royal College of Surgeons) it was found in the garden of No 39 Lincoln's Inn Fields by a water pump in a position I have identified in surveys made by the Royal College of Surgeons to have been right by the main entrance. It became known through association of the theatre as the Davenant Bust, but as we now suspect was sited at the theatre by Henry Giffard who attempted the last theatrical season there in 1742-43.

Incidentally Giffard also used a full size plaster? statue of Shakespeare by Scheemakers as a pantomime stage prop at his previous theatre - at Goodman's Fields, where he first put on Garrick. 

This I covered in the catalogue: The Face & Figure of Shakespeare at Orleans House Gallery. Anyway I digress: the bust passed to Professor Owen who showed it at the Crystal palace, where it came to the attention of the Duke of Devonshire who bought it and gave it to the Garrick Club, who incidentally used to use it as a door stop'.

Not an unusual fate for portrait busts - the  16th century Lumley / Pomfret marble bust of Henry VIII suffered similar humiliation whilst it was in the Ashmolean Museum offices, until rescued in the mid 20th century ( communication Michael Vickers).
__________________________________________

It was, until very recently, widely believed that this Roubiliac bust had been made in the 17th Century - a story widely promoted is that the bust had originally been discovered by workmen, during the demolition along with a bust of Ben Jonson, in a niche above what had been the stage door where it had been bricked in after the Theatre had become a barracks in 1732.  

Originally built as a real tennis court, the building was used as a playhouse during two periods, 1661–1674 and 1695–1705. A Real Tennis Court is about 70ft x 30 ft.

During the early period, the theatre was called Lincoln's Inn Fields Playhouse, also known as "The Duke's Playhouse", "The New Theatre" or "The Opera"  - it opened on 28 June 1661.

 The building was demolished and replaced by a purpose-built theatre for a third period, 1714–1728.

The building later became an Auction room and was opened as The Salopian China Warehouse in 1783 for Thomas Turner's Caughly porcelain (who first produced 'Willow Pattern' china. 

From 1794 - 1847 it was the warehouse of Copeland and Spode. It was demolished in 1848 to make way for an extension to the Royal College of Surgeons.

 Given that there no other contemporary examples of the two terracotta busts (in any material) of Shakespeare by Roubiliac - then this is almost certainly one of the three terracotta busts - either lot 73 or lot 83 on the second day 13 May 1762, or lot 86 on the Third day 14 May 1762 at the posthumous Roubiliac Sale held at the Studio in St Martin's Lane by Langfords of the Piazza Covent Garden.
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There is mention of the  'remarkable fine' terracotta bust in the John Stanley sale at Christie's in his Great Room in Pall Mall of 24 June 1786 to be sold alongside busts of Handel and Milton. (Clipping from Morning Post and Advertiser below).

It is my belief that this refers to the Garrick 'Davenant' bust of Shakespeare.

Notice of the Stanley Sale at Christie's in Morning Post and Advertiser 22 June, 1786.

Burney Collection.




A fascinating snippet  which refers to busts of Milton, Shakespeare and Handel 'exquisitely modelled' by Roubiliac. The wording suggests that these three busts were terracottas modelled by Roubiliac.
This is all the more remarkable given that John Stanley (1712 -1786), master of the Kings music was blinded in accident at the age of two.

John Stanley began a partnership with John Christopher Smith Jnr. the former amanuensis of Handel after the death of Handel in 1760.

As the Stanley bust has 'disappeared' it is more than tempting to suggest that this bust is that discovered by the pump in front of 39 Lincolns Inn Fields by William Clift of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1834.

 It should be noted that the dress on the two Roubiliac terracottas of Shakespeare, apart from the collar is very close to the terracotta bust of John Ray in the British Museum which was purchased at the Roubiliac sale by Dr Matthew Matey - another example of  Roubiliac recycling his designs. He also uses the same basic bust for his portraits of Jonathan Tyers and Henry Streatfield.


For more on the Roubiliac busts of  Ray, Tyers and Streatfield, see:-

So far no other  examples of this version of the Roubiliac busts of Shakespeare in Terracotta, Marble or Plaster have reappeared.

See - Louis Francois Roubiliac by Katherine Esdaile, Pub Oxford, 1928, page128.


..............................




The Salopian Warehouse.

Portugal Street.

Anonymous water colour 1801.

_________




 Another view of the Salopian China Warehouse,

George Shepherd.

circa 1816.



Horwood's Map of London and Westminster, 1st Edition 1792 - 9.
 
showing location of Spode's warehouse formerly the Dukes Theatre.

Above, due North and running parallel to Portugal; Street is Portugal Row, the South side of Lincolns Inn Fields. Number 37 appears to be linked with the warehouse. 

In 1800 the College of Surgeons removed from their premises in the Old Bailey to No. 41, Lincoln's Inn Fields going on to eventually occupying nos. 39 - 43.




Royal College of Surgeons, 1814.

...................................



Royal College of Surgeons, 1814.
_____________ 

Footnote -

List of the occupiers of 39 Lincolns Inn Fields - prior to the occupation of the building by the Royal College of Surgeons.


No. 39.—From 1661 to about 1673, Mrs. Anne Hearne (or Heron);

in 1675, Rich. Duhamell;

before 1683 to after 1700, Thos. Dove.

1708, Henry Desborough,
 before 1715 to 1749, Mary Grigson.

1750, Sir Thos. Garret.

1751–3, Sir Thos. Fitzgerald.

1754–6, Lady Powell.

1758, Robert Chester.

1759–73, Charles Scrase.

1774–95, Anthony Dickins.

1796–7, Mrs. Dickins.

1798–1804, Thos. Dickins.

1805–, Jon. Dennett.

The British Museum and Garrick Club Terracotta Busts of Shakespeare by Roubiliac (part 2). The Garrick 'Davenant' Bust



The Garrick Club Terracotta Bust of Shakespeare.
The so called Davenant Bust,
by Louis Francois Roubiliac.





































The Garrick Club 'Davenant' Terracotta Portrait bust of Shakespeare.

The Photographs very  kindly provided by Marcus Risdell of the Garrick Club.


Presented to the Garrick Club by the Duke of Devonshire in 1865.


The Socle is a replacement for a turned marble socle and was designed by Marcus Risdell of the Garrick Club.

It should be noted that the dress on the two Roubiliac terracottas of Shakespeare owned by the Garrick Club and the British Museum, apart from the collar is very close to the terracotta bust of John Ray by Roubiliac in the British Museum, which was purchased at the Roubiliac sale by Dr Matthew Matey - another example of  Roubiliac recycling his designs. He also uses the same basic bust for his portraits of Jonathan Tyers and Henry Streatfield.

 For more on the Roubiliac busts of  Ray, Tyers and Streatfield, see:-




The 'Davenent bust' - is so called after Sir William Davenant (1606 - 68) who was the proprietor of the Dukes Theatre in Portugal Street, Lincoln's Inn Fields 1660 until his death in 1668, (Portugal Street runs parallel with Portugal Row the South side of Lincolns Inn Fields).


Originally built as a real tennis court, The Dukes Theatre was used as a playhouse during two periods, 1661–1674 and 1695–1705. The size of a Real Tennis Court should be approximately 70ft x 30 ft.

During the early period of the theatre it was called Lincoln's Inn Fields Playhouse, also known as "The Duke's Playhouse", "The New Theatre" or "The Opera"  - it opened on 28 June 1661.

The building was demolished and replaced by a purpose-built theatre for a third period, 1714–1728.
 It was until very recently believed that at one time this Roubiliac bust had been made in the 17th Century - a story widely promoted is that the bust had originally been discovered by workmen, during the demolition along with a bust of Ben Jonson in a niche above the stage door where it had been bricked in after the Theatre had become a barracks in 1732.


The building later became an Auction room and was opened as The Salopian China Warehouse in 1783 for Thomas Turner's Caughly porcelain (who first produced 'Willow Pattern' china. From 1794 - 1847 it was the warehouse of Copeland and Spode. It was demolished in 1848 to make way for an extension to the Royal College of Surgeons.(see the following post).

___________________

The British Museum and Garrick Club Terracotta Busts of Shakespeare by Roubiliac (part 1). The Portrait of Shakespeare attributed to Borsselar.

 
The British Museum and Garrick Club
Portrait Busts of William Shakespeare
in Terracotta by Louis Francois Roubiliac.
It's Source -The Portrait of William Shakespeare 
by Pieter Borsselaer
 
 
This portrait, formerly in the possession of Philip Stanhope, Lord Chesterfield is to my eye the obvious source for the Roubiliac Garrick Club and British Museum terracotta busts of Shakespeare.

 The main difference is in the elaborate van Dyck style lace collar on the terracotta.
 
 
The Chesterfield Portrait of William Shakespeare.
Oil on canvas, 127.5 x 120 cm.
c. 1679.
This portrait of William Shakespeare, possibly by the Dutch painter Pieter Borsselaer (or Peter Borsseler, also Peter Bustler), was once owned by the Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield.
 Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.
 
Provenance:
Halifax Collection until 1739/40;
Halifax sale, 1739/40, lot 13, bought by Earl of Chesterfield;
Chesterfield sale, Bretby, 1918, lot 2701 (?);
in various hands 1918 - 1949;
Christie's 2 December 1949, Lot 163; American Shakespeare Festival Theatre and Academy.
___________________________________

The inscription 'F. Zuccaro' was uncovered by cleaning by James Roth in 1967. He wrote that it 'did not seem superimposed' in a letter to Dr Levi Fox of 12.12.1967 (Shakespeare Birthplace Trust Archive). However, this attribution is certainly wrong as Zuccaro was in England for perhaps six months in 1574/5.

George Vertue, when he saw the painting at the Halifax sale in 1739/40 thought it had 'a head new painted onto the posture, perhaps by Sykes' (a painter working in the first and second decades of the eighteenth century). This would imply that the painting had been made of someone else in the 1660's and then altered to represent Shakespeare around 1700.

However, restoration in 1962 showed no evidence of such a history. Like the Soest Portrait, this painting is also associated with the anecdote which originates from Vertue and appears in The Gentleman's Magazine in 1759 which relates that Clarges (the first owner of the portrait) commissioned a young actor who looked like Shakespeare to sit for the portrait by Lely. The current attribution of Dutch artist Peter Borsseler was made by Oliver Millar, a leading authority on seventeenth century painting. He notes that it is very close to that artists portrait of Sir William Dugdale.
Author - Dr Patricia Smyth.
 info from and see - http://www.vads.ac.uk/large.php?uid=84563
 
 
For the portraits by Borsseler - see -
 
 
___________________________
 
Lord Chesterfield sat to Roubiliac on several occasions. They were relatively near neighbours and Chesterfield was an ardent Francophile. Given the Baroque influences shown in both the painted portrait above and sculpted portraits it is hard to resist the obvious connection.
 _________________________________
It should also be noted that Michael Rysbrack and George Vertue were close friends  they were also both Catholics and would have attended the same church - Vertue's influence is plain to see on Rysbrack's busts of Shakespeare and is very obvious. When Rysbrack and Roubiliac depicted the same sitters they did so in deliberately markedly different ways.
 
____________________________________________________
 
 The Lost Madame Boccage Bust of Shakespeare.

 Busts of Pope, Dryden, Milton and Shakespeare were sent to Paris in 1751 by Lord Chesterfield.
Katherine Esdaile makes a very good case that the four busts for Mme Boccage’s garden sent to France by Chesterfield were Roubiliac marble busts. Mrs Thrale saw them in her drawing room in Paris in 1775. If this is truly the case, then marble busts of Shakespeare, Pope, Milton and Dryden are still awaiting discovery or identification - perhaps hidden in a French Collection.
 
There are currently no marble or plaster versions extant of the British Museum and Garrick Club terracottas.
 
Of course it is possible that the Madame Boccage busts were made of plaster and that given the delicate nature of the material they were accidently destroyed.
 
See - Louis Francois Roubiliac by Katherine Esdaile. pub. Oxford 1929.
 
 
 Madame Boccage corresponded with Lord Chesterfield in 1750-52 and twelve of his letters to her were published by Dr Matthew Maty in Miscellaneous Works of the late Philip Dormer Stanhope, Earl of Chesterfield: consisting of letters to his friends, never before printed, and various other articles. To which are prefixed, memoirs of his life, tending to illustrate the civil, literary and political history of his time, 2 vols, London, 1777, vol. II, pp.242-81, letters LXXXV-XCVI.

In the Chesterfield letters to Madame Boccage there are several references to him giving her the busts of Pope, Milton, Dryden and Shakespeare.

14 June 1750 - replying to her asking for a bust of himself he tells her that he will be sending her busts of Pope and Milton.
20 May 1751 - He is sending four ambassadors, Shakespeare, Milton, Dryden and Pope.
7 November 1751 - the bust of himself should arrive at Dieppe on the first good wind
 
She wrote to her sister

"Avant que de quitter le rivage que je vous décris,je viens de répondre au beau présent que Mylord Chesterfield m’a envoyé : ce sont les bustes des quatre plus grands Poëtes d’Angleterre, Mylton, Dryden, Pope, & Shakespear ; lisez mon remerciement, trop peu digne, par malheur de son attention flatteuse : […] Je reprochais vivement à ces bustes célèbres, d’avoir passé la mer sans le vôtre ; je préférois, leur dis-je, à la représentation de vous autres morts fameux, l’image de l’illustre vivant qui vous envoie […] Je crus […] que de demander votre portrait, étoit trop oser. Je me borne donc à vous faire mes très-humbles remerciements […] je les destine à l’ornement de ma petite bibliothèque de Paris."
 
Mrs Thrale Letter in the Rylands Library - Mrs. Thrale is  occasionally  very  severe on the French! 

This appears in  her account of a visit to dine with Madame de Boccage on October 5th 1775 :
" The Morning was spent in adjusting our Ornaments in order to dine with Madame de Bocage at 2 o'clock.  There was a showy Dinner with a Frame in the middle, and she gave us an English Pudding made after the  Receipt of  the Dutchess of  Queensbury.  We saw nothing particularly pleasing at this Visit but the beauty of Madame de Bocages niece, the Countess of Blanchetre, whose husband was so handsome too that being a Frenchman - I  wonder'd.  In the course of  conversation, however, he turned out an Italian, and  there was another Italian Noble - man who hailed Baretti and made himself agreable to us  all.  Nothing would serve him but attend us at night to the Colissee which, after leaving our Names with the Sardinian Ambassadress, we were willing  enough to permit.  In Madame de Bocage's Drawing room stood the Busts of Shakespear, Milton, Pope and Dryden, the lady sat on a Sopha with a fine Red Velvet Cushion fringed with gold under her Feet and just over her Head a  Cobweb of  uncommon  size & I am  sure  great Antiquity.  A Pot to spit in, either of  Pewter or Silver quite  as black &ill-coloured, was on her Table, & when  the  Servant carried Coffee about he put in Sugar with  his Fingers.  The House these people live in is a fine one but so contrived that we were to pass through  a sort of Hall where the Footmen were playing at Cards before we arrived at Madame's Chamber."

 Footnotes-

Horace Walpole wrote - 'There is come from France a Madame Bocage, who has translated Milton: my Lord Chesterfield prefers the copy to the original; but that is not uncommon for him to do, who is the patron of bad authors and bad actors. She has written a play too, which was damned, and worthy my lord's approbation'. Walpole not a fan of Madame Boccage!

Madame du Boccage published a poem in imitation of Milton, and another founded on Gesner's "Death of Abel." She also translated Pope's "Temple of Fame;" but her principal work was "La Columbiade."
 
 It was at the house of this lady, at Paris, in 1775, that (Dr) Johnson was annoyed at her footman's taking the sugar in his fingers and throwing it into his coffee. "I was going," says the Doctor, "to put it aside, but hearing it was made on purpose for me, I e'en tasted Tom's fingers."    
 
See my previous posting - http://bathartandarchitecture.blogspot.co.uk/2014_10_25_archive.html




 

A Bust of Shakespeare in the Royal Collection and it's variants and the Chandos Portraits.


A Marble bust of William Shakespeare.
attributed to John Cheere.
in the Royal Collection.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
William Shakespeare.
White Marble Bust.
A fairly loose copy after the Peter Scheemakers bust in the Library at Trinity College, Dublin.
71.0 x 48.0 x 24.0 cm (whole object).
Attributed to John Cheere.
Royal Collection
The Royal Collection suggest an attribution to John Cheere (1709-1787), which seems reasonable, given the somewhat generalised features - but it lacks the subtleties of the busts of Roubiliac, Rysbrack and Scheemakers (see above), but seems to have been the most reproduced version - probably because of the plaster multiples emanating from the Cheere Workshop at Hyde Park Corner.
 Given that there is no provenance prior to 1806, it could well be a later copy. The inscription and socle is very similar to other busts in the Royal Collection such as Alexander Pope and Lord Ligonier by Roubiliac.
______________________________
 
 
 
 
 
 
Another version of the Royal Collection Marble bust of Shakespeare
Height 52 cms including Socle.
Currently with London dealers Historical Portraits.
 
 
 
The Garrick Club Plaster Bust of Shakespeare.
 
 This bust is very close to marble of Shakespeare in the Royal Collection (above) attributed to John Cheere. Another version of the Trinity College Shakespeare by Roubiliac.
Almost certainly a cast either from a John Cheere plaster bust or Moulds from the Cheere Workshop.
 Library Photograph provided by Marcus Risdell, Curator at the Garrick Club.
Inscribed Shout on the back.
Height 64 cms, Socle 14.5 cms.
 
There is another version of this bust by Shout at Windsor Castle (Roscoe)..
 Presented to the Garrick Club sometime in the 1830's - it is not yet clear by whom. 
 For Robert Shout (1778 - 1827) and the Shout family of plaster statuary manufacturers see -
 
For a later version see the Sarti bust of Shakespeare at the Athenaeum Club, Pall Mall. (below).
Note particularly the base of the bust above the socle.
 
I am again very grateful to Marcus Risdell curator of the Garrick Club Collection for his help in providing images of the Garrick Club Portraits.
 
_________________________________
 
The Athenaeum Club Plaster bust of Shakespeare
Purchased from Pietro Sarti - 1830.
 
The detail of the socle of this bust would suggest that Sarti either copied this bust from the cast by Shout or used his moulds. Robert Shout  
 
 
 
 
 
 
The Committee of the Athenæum Club.
Bought of P. Sarti
£ s d
Jany 26th Figure of Diana Dressing
8. 8. 0
Ditto Venus Victorious
8. 8. 0
Feby 2 Moving repairing & painting to grecion archer
1. 4. 0 4
Bust of Sir Isac Newton
1. 10. 0
Ditto Shakespere
1. 10. 0
Ditto Milton
1. 10. 0
Ditto Lock
1. 10. 0
Ditto Dr Johnson
1. 1. 0
Ditto Dr Harvey
1. 10. 0
Ditto Lord Mansfield
1. 10. 0
Ditto Pope
1. 10. 0 [inserted]
Ditto Bacon
1. 10. 0
Moulding & casting Sir J. Reynolds
3. 3. 0
Adding drapery to ditto
1. 0. 0
Putting pedestal to the Bust of Burke
7. 0
Repairing & painting the Bust of Sir C Wren
12. 0
Painting the Names in the above Busts
19. 6
For taken down & putting twice the Apollo and altering four times the leaf
3. 10. 0
Bust of Garrick
1. 10. 0
All the Articles in this Bill
are correct. C Daly £42. 2. 6
Certified to be correct
Decimus Burton
24 April 1830
[Endorsed:] 1830
Casts Ordered for payment
Sarti Building Committee
26 April
Received 30 April of the Trustees of the Athenæum the sum of Forty two pounds two shillings and sixpence being the amount of my Bill for Casts supplied to the New Building to this time – £42. 2. 6
 
P. Sarti
 
The photographs and text above from -
 
___________________________________________________
 
 
The Chandos Portrait of Shakespeare.
 
 
 
 
 Associated with John Taylor
Oil on canvas, feigned oval, circa 1600-1610
126 mm x 85 mm. image size;
Given by Francis Egerton, 1st Earl of Ellesmere, to the NPG in 1856
NPG1
© National Portrait Gallery, London.

There was a contemporary copy of this portrait once owned by the painter Kneller, in the possession of Lord Rockingham by 1759.
George Vertue, writing on the Chandos Portrait in 1719 records -
 'The picture of Shakespeare ('the only' crossed out) one original in Posesion/ of Mr Keyck of the Temple. he bought for forty guinnea/of Mr Baterton who bought it off Sr W. Davenant. to whom it was left by will of John Taylor. who had/it of Shakespear.it was painted by one Taylor a player and painter contemp: with Shakes and his intimate friend. The name 'Richard Burbage' is crossed out in the margin. (later insertions in bold.
 Mr Betterton told Mr Keck several times that the / Picture of Shakespeare he had, was painted by one John Taylor / in his will he left it to Sir William Davenant.& at / the death of Sir Will Davenant - Mr Betterton bought / it & at his death Mr Keck bought it in whose / poss.it now is (1719 in the margin)'.

Despite this there is still some doubt - Betterton is known to have embroidered his relationship with Shakespeare for his own ends

For an fuller discussion on the subject of this portrait see -
Searching for Shakespeare, Tarnya Cooper, Yale University Press. 2006.
______________________________________
 
 
The Roubiliac copy of the Chandos Portrait of Shakespeare.
 
 
 
 
A Copy of the 'Chandos' Portrait of William Shakespeare.
Government Art Collection.
They say by Roubiliac c.1758.
61 x 52 cms.
Presented to the British Museum on 1st February 1760 by Dr Matthew Maty along with a bust of The Rev Dr Clarke (perhaps by Guelfi - disappeared).
Purchased from the British Museum in June 1946 for £1.
 
 
 
A very good version of the Chandos Portrait of Shakespeare.
 
Possibly mid 18th century
Oil on canvas
57.2 x 45.1 cm.
Provenance -The North family, the Earls of Guilford, and by descent.
This portrait is also currently with Philip Mould Ltd.
 
JT Smith in Nollekens and His Times 1828 II p.99 says that in the posthumous sale of Roubiliac there was a copy of the Chandos Portrait by Sir Joshua Reynolds Reynolds, which was bought by John Flaxman I, the sculptor and caster of plaster figures John Flaxman RA's father, it afterwards belonged to Edward Malone who showed it to Reynolds 'who acknowledged that he had painted it for his friend Mr Roubiliac'
 
The portrait above is currently with Philip Mould Ltd.
 I felt it was worth lifting the entire text from his website -  written I suspect by Bendor Grosvenor.
 
 This important portrait is a faithful replica of the well known ‘Chandos’ portrait of Shakespeare [National Portrait Gallery, London], which is thought to be the only undisputed likeness of the playwright in oil. The present picture was probably painted in the latter half of the eighteenth century, and possibly about the time the original portrait came into the possession of the James Brydges, 3rd Duke of Chandos, who owned it from 1783 onwards.
 The validity of the Chandos portrait as showing Shakespeare relies mainly on its apparent early provenance. It has long been accepted as showing Shakespeare, and in the early eighteenth century was recorded by the art historian George Vertue as having belonged to the noted actor Thomas Betterton, and before that Sir William Davenant, who is widely thought to have been Shakespeare’s godson.
Unlike many copies of the Chandos picture, which are most often painted from engravings, this example must have been painted directly from the original portrait. As such, its fresh condition and vibrant colouring perhaps allows us to see what the original portrait may then have looked like, given that the Chandos picture is today so covered in discoloured varnish, over-paint and dirt.
The colouring of the present picture, with its vibrant whites of the collar and more animated modelling of areas such as the hair, gives an idea of how much brighter the Chandos picture must once have appeared. And perhaps more importantly, details of Shakespeare’s physiognomy, such as the outline of his nose, are seen here with greater precision.
 In the present picture, for example, the nose is presented as more prominent than it now appears in the original, since most of the dark glazes with which the artist first drew Shakespeare’s outlines have been much abraded. Similarly, comparison between the Chandos picture and the present picture, together with another even earlier replica [Private Collection] shows that the Shakespeare we see in the Chandos picture today has artificially long hair, for in the Guilford version it stops well short of his collar. Likewise, the Chandos Shakespeare today has a pointy beard, which is not evident in the Guilford example.
 We do not know who made such additions to the Chandos portrait, but we do know that in the mid-nineteenth century much was made of the fact that the Chandos Shakespeare seemed at odds with contemporary notions of Shakespeare’s image. One critic claimed that the picture showed a man ‘of decidedly Jewish physiognomy… with a coarse expression…’ It is likely, therefore, that additions such as the pointy beard and longer hair were added to the Chandos picture to make Shakespeare look more like the Bohemian playwright history has assumed him to be.
 
_______________________________
 
 
 
William Powell (1735 - 69)
Actor and protégée of Garrick
With his bust of Shakespeare and his portrait of Garrick in the background.
Engraved by Samuel Okey (fl. 1765 -80) after Robert Pyle (1761 - 66)
Mezzotint
Circa 1765/70.
Royal Collection.