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1 of 253523 objects
John Riley (1646-91)
Katherine Elliot (d. 1688) c.1687-88
Oil on canvas | 126.6 x 102.5 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external) | RCIN 405628
Temporary Exhibition Room 5, Kensington Palace
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Riley often collaborated with the German artist, Johann Closterman (1660-1711), who arrived in London in 1681. In this case an early inventory ascribes the painting to this partnership: Riley for the head and Closterman the drapery. The work probably dates from c. 1687.
Katherine Elliot (d. 1688) was James II nurse who became dresser to both his wives. She is shown seated in a red upholstered chair, wearing black widow's clothes and hood; a white kerchief in her left hand resting on lap.Provenance
Presumably painted for James II or one of his daughters; first recorded as the overmantle in the Waiting Room or Cistern Room at Kensington Palace in 1710 (having been moved from store, no 136); in this same room in 1720; in the Passage Room at Kensington in 1736; in the Queen's Dressing Room at Buckingham Palace in 1790, and probably the same room (now called 'Blue Room') in 1819 (no 674)
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Creator(s)
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Medium and techniques
Oil on canvas
Measurements
126.6 x 102.5 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external)
147.7 x 124.0 x 7.5 cm (frame, external)
Other number(s)
Alternative title(s)
Mrs Elliot
