An Elegant Couple Admiring The 'Lely Venus'

An Elegant Couple Admiring The 'Lely Venus'

The antique marble known as the 'Lely Venus' was acquired by King Charles I from the Gonzaga family in 1627-8. When the Royal Collection was sold during the Commonwealth period it was acquired by the painter Sir Peter Lely. In 1682, it returned to the Royal Collection but since 2005 it has been on long-term loan to the British Museum, London.
Adam Buck was born in Ireland but worked principally in London as a painter in watercolor and a portrait miniaturist.

This watercolor was owned by Paula Fentress Peyraud, a reference librarian at the Chappaqua Public Library. She was a serious collector of books, manuscripts, letters, paintings, drawings and prints, with a particular interest in Georgian England.