May 24, 2022 10:00 EST
Old Masters Paintings & Silver
24
Sir Peter Lely and Studio
Portrait of Dr. John Fell, Dean of Christ Church College and Bishop of Oxford (1625-1686)
Oil on canvas
30 x 25 inches (76.2 x 63.5 cm)
Provenance:
Private collection, New York
Dr. John Fell, best known today as the subject of the famous rhyme:
I do not like thee, Dr. Fell
The reason why I cannot tell
But this I know and know full well,
I do not like thee, Dr. Fell.
Dr. Fell was a royalist clergyman who fought in the army of Charles I in the English Civil War. He was also a distiguished classics scholar, who after the Stewart Restoration became one of the founders of the Oxford University Press. The lines associated with him were a joking parody of a Latin epigram (1.32) by the Roman poet Martial:
Non amo te, Sabidi, nec possum dicere quare.
Hoc tantum possum dicere: non amo te
(I do not love you, Sabidius; I can't say why/This however I can say: I do not love you).
Sold for $2,500
Estimated at $3,000 - $5,000
Includes Buyer's Premium
Sir Peter Lely and Studio
Portrait of Dr. John Fell, Dean of Christ Church College and Bishop of Oxford (1625-1686)
Oil on canvas
30 x 25 inches (76.2 x 63.5 cm)
Provenance:
Private collection, New York
Dr. John Fell, best known today as the subject of the famous rhyme:
I do not like thee, Dr. Fell
The reason why I cannot tell
But this I know and know full well,
I do not like thee, Dr. Fell.
Dr. Fell was a royalist clergyman who fought in the army of Charles I in the English Civil War. He was also a distiguished classics scholar, who after the Stewart Restoration became one of the founders of the Oxford University Press. The lines associated with him were a joking parody of a Latin epigram (1.32) by the Roman poet Martial:
Non amo te, Sabidi, nec possum dicere quare.
Hoc tantum possum dicere: non amo te
(I do not love you, Sabidius; I can't say why/This however I can say: I do not love you).
Glue relined. Repaired 3-inch horizontal tear roughy 2 inches above the center of the lower edge. Repaired hole roughly 1/4-inch in diameter in the background of the upper left quadrant. Some restoration to the shadows on the face; a few touches of restoration to the clothing.
Any condition statement is given as a courtesy to a client, is an opinion and should not be treated as a statement of fact and our Organization shall have no responsibility for any error or omission. Please contact the specialist department to request further information or additional images that may be available.
Auction: Old Masters Paintings & Silver, May 24, 2022
