James Sotheby
- Artist: John Riley
- Date: c.1690
- Medium: Oil paint on canvas
- Dimensions: support: 1270 x 1027 mm
- Museum: Tate Britain
- Collection record: Tate Britain website
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About this artwork
This is the portrait titled “James Sotheby” by John Riley, painted around 1690 in oil on canvas. The sitter is James Sotheby, son of a prosperous haberdasher from Hatton Garden. He owned houses in Hackney and the estate at Sewardstone, Essex, and was a noted collector of books, manuscripts and miniatures. In the painting he stands in front of a fluted column, his right hand resting on a stone plinth, and a sword tucked into a loosely tied sash—symbols of his status and military association.
Riley, who became the king’s leading painter after Peter Lely’s death, captured Sotheby with a calm, direct gaze. X‑ray studies reveal that the sitter was originally rendered in a Roman tunic to emphasize his classical learning, but the artist later painted over it with a blue cloak and a red belt. The lace and the subtle shadows in the cloak show Riley’s skill in rendering texture. The background’s grand column and the plinth hint at the portrait’s courtly setting, while the sitter’s firm stance and hand on the hip convey confidence.
The portrait was commissioned by Sotheby himself for £26 17 6 in 1689, a substantial sum that shows his wealth and his desire to present himself as a gentleman of taste and learning. The work has been in the collection since its purchase in 1955 and stands today as a window into the world of late‑17th‑century English gentry.
See it in person
James Sotheby is in the collection of Tate Britain on Millbank, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
