Portrait of a Lady of the Chaworth-Musters Family of Annesley Hall, c. 1690-1700: Circle of Kneller.

Oil on canvas in a fine quality period carved and giltwood frame (some slight damages to frame).
The sitter is probably a member of the Chaworth-Musters family (?Elizabeth Chaworth, nee Pole of Heage, Derbyshire, wife of Patricius Chaworth c.1673-1719?) of Annesley Hall and Park, their ancestral home for 350 years.
It remained in the hands of the Chaworth-Musters family until sold by Major Robert Patricius Chaworth-Musters in 1972. Unfortunately the hall suffered a fire in 1997 which caused damage to the structure and it has not been lived in since. The hall is now in private ownership, in very poor condition and not open to the public.(Image 5)
The Chaworth family were descendents of the Chaources family, of Maine in northern France, who came to Britain at the time of the Norman Conquest. The Annesley line can trace their descent to two brothers. Patricius Chaworth married the heiress of Ogmore and Kidwelly, South Wales. His brother Robert de Chaworth settled in Nottinghamshire and married the daughter of William de Walchiville, Lord of Marnham, in the time of Henry I (1100-1135). He became the ancestor of the Chaworth family later of Annesley.
SIZE: 39 x 33 inches inc.frame.
PROVENANCE:House sale of Annesley Hall and Park, Nottinghamshire by the then owner Major Robert Patricius Chaworth-Musters (1923-1992) 21 March 1973, lot 1088, where bought by Christopher Hogwood CBE (1941-2014).
CHRISTOPHER JARVIS HALEY HOGWOOD, conductor, harpsichordist and musicologist, born 10 September 1941; died 24 September 2014 at home in Cambridge.
Founder of the early music ensemble the Academy of Ancient Music, he was an authority on historically informed performance and a leading figure in the early music revival of the late 20th century.
At the time of his death, Hogwood was Honorary Professor of Music in the University of Cambridge, Consultant Visiting Professor of historical performance in the Royal Academy of Music and visiting professor at King's College London. He was an Honorary Fellow of Jesus College, Cambridge and Pembroke College, Cambridge.
In 1989, Hogwood was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). He was the recipient of the Halle Handel Prize in 2008.