Credit: ©The Royal Society
Image number: RS.9667
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Portrait of Seth Ward
Date
1673-1674
Sitter
Seth Ward (1617 - 1689, British) , Astronomer
Creator
John Greenhill (1644 - 1676, British) , Painter
Object type
Archive reference number
Material
Dimensions
height (painting): 1270mm
width (painting): 1030mm
width (painting): 1030mm
Subject
Content object
Description
Three-quarter length portrait of Seth Ward wearing the robes of the Order of the Garter and seated on a square-backed chair. His left hand rests on a seal bag signifying his position as Chancellor of the Order of the Garter. The right hand rests on two leather bound books. Ward wears a black cap, shoulder-length natural hair and a light moustache. An architectural pillar is visible immediately behind the sitter, beyond which is a landscape with clouds and a view of Salisbury Cathedral.
Seth Ward was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1663.
Seth Ward was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1663.
Transcription
The Gift of Jo: KING: Peruke Maker in London
Object history
Deposited by the Bishop Seth Ward Almshouse Trust, 2004.
The painting was displayed at Hertfordshire Record Office from 1948, initially in the County Archivist’s Office and then the Archive Reading Room. [Letter, Hertfordshire County Archivist, 6 August 2004, to the Royal Society. Royal Society portrait provenance file].
Several versions of the Greenhill portrait exist. Harold Williams noted in an essay on Ward portraiture that: “It was natural that when a portrait of the distinguished Bishop of Salisbury was projected John Greenhill, born in that city...should be chosen...It was in the same year, 1673, that Greenhill received a commission to paint a portrait of Seth Ward.” [“Portraits of Seth Ward, Lord Bishop of Sarum”, by Sir Harold Williams, East Hertfordshire Archaeological Society Transactions, 1950-51 pp.9-12].
The painting was displayed at Hertfordshire Record Office from 1948, initially in the County Archivist’s Office and then the Archive Reading Room. [Letter, Hertfordshire County Archivist, 6 August 2004, to the Royal Society. Royal Society portrait provenance file].
Several versions of the Greenhill portrait exist. Harold Williams noted in an essay on Ward portraiture that: “It was natural that when a portrait of the distinguished Bishop of Salisbury was projected John Greenhill, born in that city...should be chosen...It was in the same year, 1673, that Greenhill received a commission to paint a portrait of Seth Ward.” [“Portraits of Seth Ward, Lord Bishop of Sarum”, by Sir Harold Williams, East Hertfordshire Archaeological Society Transactions, 1950-51 pp.9-12].
Associated place