'The most excellent painter that England hath yet bred': William Dobson

Pick up you rose buds while you can, O time is still a-flying. It's a painting by William Dobson that was painted very early in his career, Most likely before he left London for Oxford during the Civil War years, Which is what he's best known for. But it's quite rare to come on the market. The glorious lamp of heaven, the sun... There's another very famous one, which is in the Earl of Jersey's collection, which is now on loan to Osterley Park. But otherwise, there's the one in Annock. It's one of the earliest known paintings by the artist. It's hung, certainly since the early 19th century, in Howsam Hall in Yorkshire. There's a portrait of his wife, which is now in the Tate, And they were both bought by the same owner, and they belong to the Strickland family. I think they're probably contemporary, and they're the same size, Which is interesting, but in terms of visually how they hang, I don't think they hang out as a couple. I suspect they were both done for private reasons and maybe stayed in his studio until he died. Lost at last, time still succeeds the poor man. Not much is known about his life. He died a very young man, but he's really best known for his work at the court of Charles I during the Civil War. Dobson really steps in at a time when Van Dyck dies in 1641, and the court kind of opens up, and then he has an opportunity to work for Charles I. His portraits really resonate with the times, And I think he's a very un-Van Dyckian force. And I'm afraid that sometimes he's sidelined into simply being a follower of Van Dyck, when in fact he isn't. I think he's completely on his own, and he's quite a bold, original painter. In terms of his work, I think it's interesting because it's one of the earliest known paintings by him, And you see his starting point, if you like. In terms of the history of British art, He's one of the most important English-born painters. Aubrey, I believe, said of him that He is the greatest painter England has ever produced. And I think that's absolutely reasonable.