Lot 7: John Closterman , 1660-1711 Portrait of Isabella Willis ( d. 1727) oil on canvas, held in a 'Lely' style frame

three-quarter length, wearing a blue dress, a statue with floral wreath beside her, a landscape beyond oil on canvas, held in a 'Lely' style frame

measurements note 127 by 101 cm., 50 by 40 in.

The sitter was the wife of the Whig Bishop and controversialist Richard Willis DD (1664-1734), who had been chaplain to William III in 1694. Willis was appointed Bishop of Salisbury and later Winchester and entertained ambitions to become Archbishop of Canterbury, though his political unpopularity prevented his plans ever coming to fruition. His tomb at Winchester Cathedral, built by John Cheere, is one of the great monuments of that magnificent church.