Portrait of James, 2nd Marquis of Hamilton (1589-1625)

Portrait of James, 2nd Marquis of Hamilton (1589-1625)
Attrib. to Paul van Somer (1576-1621) Oval

James was the son of John, 1st Marquis of Hamilton and Margaret Lyon daughter of John, 8th Lord Glamis. He held a charter of the Abbey of Arbroath from 1600, and this was erected into a temporal lordship with the lands etc, by James VI in 1608.

His abilities were recognised by his appointment as a Lord of the Privy Council, Lord Steward of the Household, a Peer of England, and in 1621, KG and High Commissioner of the Scottish Parliament, which ratified the Five Articles of Perth.

He died in London in 1625, some suggest poisoned by the Duke of Buckingham. He married Lady Anne Cunningham " a lady of firm and masculine disposition" and they had five children, two of whom were the 1st and 2nd Dukes of Hamilton.

This oval painting appears to have been painted as a version of the full-length portrait of the sitter which hung in the Gallery of Hamilton Palace.

The painting (of unspecified size ) is mentioned in the following inventories:
1850s Inventory - Volume 1228
Hamilton Inventory 1876
A full length version of the painting is in the following inventories
Hamilton Inventory 7 June 1759 - M4/48 Page 1
1919 Sale Catalogue, Paintings - Illustrated Page 20 Cat 67
It is possible that all the above portraits refer to the Portrait of James, 2nd Marquis by Daniel Mytens as the Mytens portrait is not listed in any of these inventories. The discription in the sale catalogue of 1919 is very close in every detail (with the exception of its attribution) to the Mytnes portrait of the 2nd Marquis.

It may be the painting refered to in: Hamilton Inventory M12/1 page 4 [Line 21] - 'Marquis James’s picture.'