Portrait of Archbishop John Tillotson, half length, wearing (quite plain) clerical robes, oil on canvas, with Tillotson's name inscribed. 30" x 25"; with a gold frame (37 3/4" x 32 1/4"), a bit chipped, but still attractive. Provenance: sometime sold by Arthur Ackermann & Son Ltd., 157 New Bond Street, London W1, attributed to the 'Circle of John Riley (17th century)'.
***Tillotson (1630-1694), Archbishop of Canterbury, now best known for his collected sermons which were widely circulated in many editions well into the 18th century. He was raised by Puritan parents and though he joined the established Church of England at the Restoration he retained "to the end of his life a deep sympathy with nonconformists for which his high-church enemies never forgave him." (New DNB)
An attractive painting of an important 17th century Anglican divine. $7000.