Portrait of William Russell, 5th Earl and 1st Duke of Bedford, 1738

A portrait of William Russell, 5th Earl of Bedford (created Duke 1694). Engraved by Jacobus Houbraken after Anthony van Dyck, 1738. "From the Collection of the Honourable John Spencer Esquire."

The engraving depicts a young white male with dark long hair, dressed in ornate robes. He looks to the right within an oval frame that is draped with patterned fabric. A cherub sits below the oval frame holding a sabre on the right and a crown on the left.

William Russell (1613-1700), was the 5th Earl and 1st Duke of Bedford. He served as a Member of Parliament for Tavistock before succeeding to the earldom in 1641. As a politically moderate man, he occupied a difficult position during the English Civil War. Initially, he expressed support for the Parliamentarian side, but later declared his allegiance to King Charles II in 1643 after spending some time in custody and witnessing the sequestration of his estate. He was created Duke during the reign of William III and Mary II, and died aged eighty-seven.

The artist, Jacob (Jacobus) Houbraken, was the leading portrait engraver in eighteenth-century Holland. This particular portrait was included in the 1743 publication ‘The Heads of Illustrious Persons of Great Britain, Engraven by Mr. Houbraken, and Mr. Vertue, With Their Lives and Characters by Thomas Birch, A.M. F.R.S.’ Listed in the contents page as ‘William Russel [sic], Duke of Bedford’, page 113, the portrait is accompanied by two pages of biographical text, including the anecdote, “When King James II, upon the approach of the Prince of Orange towards London, called an extraordinary council to consider of his Highness’s proposals, the Earl was one of that number; and his Majesty under great distraction earnestly applying himself to him, and saying, ‘My Lord, you are a good man, and have a great influence; you can do much for me at this time;’ his Lordship answered, ‘I am an old man, and can do but little,’ adding with a deep sigh, ‘I had once a son who could now have been very serviceable to your Majesty;’ meaning the Lord Russel [sic], who had been beheaded: which struck the King half dead with silence and confusion.”

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