Attributed to Sir Godfrey Kneller (1646-1723) Portrait of Alexander Malcolm (1650-1692),...

Attributed to Sir Godfrey Kneller (1646-1723)
Portrait of Alexander Malcolm (1650-1692), created Lord Lochore a judicial position in 1687, half length, wearing a purple satin coat, blue waistcoat and pink silk scarf;
Portrait believed to be Lady Lochore, wife of Alexander Malcolm, half length, wearing a yellow satin dress and blue shawl
One signed with the artist's initials and indistinctly dated, the date partially hidden under the frame, also inscribed on a later label verso, oil on canvas, oval, 77cm by 65.6cm (a pair)

Both contained within 18th century carved giltwood frames decorated with foliate scrolls and flowers

Further historical documentation and literature can be perused upon request

Alexander Malcolm (1650-1692) was the third son of John Malcolm of Balbedie. Born at Balbedie on 13 December 1650, he pursued a successful career as an advocate culminating in his becoming a member of the (Scottish) Privy Council with the title Lord Lochore in 1688. But in 1689 he supported the Stuart succession, and when the plot for a proposed Stuart landing in Ireland was discovered, he was arrested and imprisoned, together with the Earl of Balcarres. He was released, then re-arrested, together with his brother James, and finally released in April 1690 on payment of 20,000 marks bail; he was stripped of all public offices. He died at Cupar in September 1692.

It can only be supposed that the female sitter is the wife of Alexander due to the label on the reverse of the picture unless historical evidence proves otherwise. Firstly as there are no surviving records of Lord Lochore marrying (although this may be due to the Ballingry Parish records prior to 1670 being burnt, and he possibly married before this date). Secondly that the title Lord Lochore is a judicial position and not a hereditary title, therefore there would not have been a Lady Lochore.

Born in Germany, Sir Godfrey Kneller studied in Amsterdam and Italy under Bol. In the mid 1670's, he moved to England and became the leading court and society painter around the beginning of the reign of James II. In 1689, when William III and Mary II took the throne, Kneller became their principal painter along with John Riley. He was knighted in 1692 and became a baronet under George I in 1715.