(Antwerp 1599–1640 London)
Portrait of the politician Sir Basil Dixwell MP (1585–1642),
oil on canvas, 206 x 127.5 cm, framed

Provenance:
Collection of Sir Basil Dixwell MP (1582–1642), Kent;
by descent to Sir George Oxenden (1694–1773), Broome Park, Kent;
by descent to Muriel Oxenden, Lady Capel Cure (1869–1968), London;
her sale, Christie’s, London, 20 November 1931, lot 95 (to Hartveld);
Private European collection;
sale, Sotheby’s, London, 30 June 2005, lot 20;
Private European Collection

The present picture is a workshop repetition of Anthony van Dyck’s portrait of Sir Basil Dixwell (1585–1642), a Member of the English Parliament (see S. J. Barnes/N. De Poorter/O. Millar/H. Vey, Van Dyck, A complete catalogue of the paintings, New Haven/London 2004, p. 510, no. IV.100). The prime version of this portrait was executed by van Dyck around 1638 and is conserved in Beaney House, Canterbury. Sir Basil was a wealthy landowner and taste-maker, constructing one of the opulent houses of the Caroline era, Broome Park. He entered the Commons in 1626, and was knighted by Charles I and appointed Sheriff of Kent that same year. While he is here depicted wearing conventional black costume, he was known for his flamboyant dress, earning him the sobriquet of the ‘the bravest man in the House of Commons’.