ADAM'S Country House Collections Day II - 14th October 2025

43 Country House Collections|13 th - 14 th October 2025 502 ISAAC OLIVER (ANGLO-FRENCH 1565-1617) PORTRAIT OF A NOBLEMAN, BELIEVED TO BE RICHARD SACKVILLE, 3RD EARL OF DORSET (1589-1624) Watercolour on vellum, Oval 50 x 41mm Signed in monogram ‘IO’ It is almost impossible to consider the work of Isaac Oliver without first acknowledging the towering influence of Nicholas Hilliard (1547– 1619), the pre-eminent master of Elizabethan miniature portraiture. Hilliard, who first trained under Robert Brandon (d. 1591), goldsmith and jeweller to Elizabeth I, quickly rose to prominence at Court after establishing a studio with his brother John in 1569. His earliest known portrait of Queen Elizabeth I, painted in 1572 is held in the National Portrait Gallery. Hilliard took on a number of apprentices, including his son—and most significantly, Isaac Oliver. Of all Hilliard’s pupils, Oliver distinguished himself most brilliantly, soon emerging not only as his master’s finest student but also as his most formidable rival. Little is known of Oliver’s early life. Even his date of birth is uncertain, though it must have preceded 1568, the year his Huguenot parents fled Rouen for England to escape religious persecution. Records do not confirm the age at which he entered Hilliard’s workshop, he does not appear in the minutes of the Goldsmiths’ Company, but schol- ars generally agree that he most likely began in his early teens and served the customary seven years of apprenticeship. Unlike Hilliard, who held a permanent position as court limner* to Elizabeth I, Oliver’s rise was tied to the new Stuart dynasty. By the reign of James I he was in high demand and receiving commissions from the Crown. He was appointed limner to Queen Anne of Den- mark and later joined the household of Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales, producing multiple celebrated portraits of the young heir. The sitter in this fine miniature portrait is believed to be Richard Sack- ville, 3rd Earl of Dorset (1589-1624). A closely related portrait of the Earl, painted by Oliver in 1616, now in the Victoria & Albert Museum, depicted in full-length, dressed in typical 17th Century gallant, set against a wonderfully detailed and sumptuous interior, the elegance and refinement that mark Oliver at the height of his powers. Both works share the same finely observed features, artistry we continue to celebrate almost four centuries later. * A person who creates paintings or drawings. The term comes from an English alteration of “illuminator,” referring to a manuscript illustrator. Starting in the sixteenth century, it was used for painters of miniatures, but later expanded to describe artists who produced larger works in the same style. € 8,000 - 12,000 Isaac Oliver, Richard Sackville, 3rd Earl of Dorset , c.1616 Vellum, 9.25” high Image courtesy of Victoria & Albert Museum