The sitter was the natural son of General Charles Churchill M.P., (1656-1714) and therefore nephew of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough. Like his father and uncle, Charles had a successful army career, rising to the rank of Lieutenant-General in 1739, being Governor of both Chelsea 1720-22 and Plymouth from 1722 until his death. Joining the army as an ensign in the 3rd Regiment of Foot in 1688, he later served as ADC to his father at the Battle of Blenheim. He was Colonel of the 1st Foot 1709-14, of the 16th Dragoons 1715-17, and of the 10th Dragoons, 1723 until he died.

Returned as Whig Member for Castle Rising in Norfolk in 1715 and remaining their parliamentary representative until his death, he was “a worthy and good-natured, friendly and honourable man” who remained Sir Robert Walpole’s staunchest friend. Churchill followed Walpole into opposition in 1717, stood by him when he was expected to fall in 1727, and was on of the body-guard of friends who escorted him through the anti-excise mob in London in 1733. He voted consistently with the Walpole and Pelham administrations until his death on 14th May 1745. He was fairly renowned for his good nature and wit although he was barley literate. According to Horace Walpole, Churchill “professed never having read a whole book through in his life and his letters were so ill wrote and so ill spelled that Sir Robert Walpole used to keep them unread till he saw him, and then he often could not read them himself”.

Sir Charles Hanbury Williams commemorated him in a sonnet by summing up his life: “None led through youth a gayer life than he, Cheerful in converse, smart in repartee, Sweet was his night, and joyful was his day, He dined with Walpole and with Oldfield lay”. Illegitimate himself, he left a considerable fortune worth £4,800 a year to his illegitimate son, by the celebrated actress Anne Oldfield, Charles who, in turn, married Walpole’s illegitimate daughter Mary.

Given the apparent age of the sitter, together with the style of wig, we can propose that the present portrait was completed when he was Colonel of the 1st regiment of Foot c 1710. Jonathan Richardson also depicted Charles Churchill in a three-quarter length portrait c.1730 (Sotheby’s 13th April 1994; lot 33) and Jean- Baptiste van Loo depicted him later still c.1740 (Baron Walpole, Wolterton Hall). His close associations with Sir Robert Walpole could explain why both men were depicted by both artists. When last on the art market over twenty-five years ago this portrait was thought to be of the 1st Duke of Marlborough; close comparison of the known iconography of both men now show a classic case of mistaken identity, with the present portrait clearly displaying the fine features of the great Duke’s nephew and fellow officer.

Jonathan Richardson Sr., (1665-1745) has been described as ‘the ablest of the painters who came to prominence during the last decade of Kneller’s life and who flourished after his death’. Trained under the portrait painter John Riley, he later married his niece, he rose from a humble family of weavers to become one of the most popular and influential portrait painters in England during the first half of the eighteenth century. Portraits by him can be found in many public and private collections including in London the National Portrait Gallery and the British Museum.

Principal Reference: Romney Sedgwick: ‘The House of Commons 1715-1754’ HMSO, 1970, p.551-552