The British National Trust has acquired one of the finest miniature paintings of the Jacobean age, saving the important work for the nation. The miniature portrait of Edward Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Cherbury by the French-born English portrait miniature painter Isaac Oliver (c.1565 – October 1617) was purchased by the National Trust for £2.1 million in partnership with the National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF) and Art Fund.Painted between c.1602-1617, the miniature depicts Edward, Lord Herbert of Cherbury as “the fashionable, romantic, melancholic young lover,” showing the famed statesman, socialite, philosopher, and poet lying on the bank of a stream in a shaded forest with his head on his hand. It has been on display in the Library of its historic home of Powis Castle near Welshpool (which is cared for the National Trust) where it will now remain.Justin Albert, National Trust Director for Wales, said, that the Trust is proud and honoured to be involved in the funding partnership that enabled the important painting to remain in the collection at Powis. “Powis Castle already offers our visitors the chance to enjoy one of the finest collections of European and South Asian artefacts managed by the National Trust and we are sure they will be glad that the painting is to stay at its historic home,” he said.
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