Allegorical Painting of Two Ladies, English School

[1] The painting depicts two women, one black and one white, sitting next to each other, with their faces covered in beauty patches.

The work was created c. 1650 is probably not a portrait of real sitters, but an allegory with relevance within contemporaneous British print culture.

Tyrell-Kenyon was quoted as saying in 1949 that “We have a curious picture which has hung here for many years, but of which I know of no real explanation.” It was in his manor house in Shropshire, England since at least the nineteenth century.

There was a fierce bidding war due to the inherent sociological interest of the allegorical depiction of a dark-skinned woman, and the final hammer price was £220,000, before the 20% buyer's premium.

[11] On 23 June 2023, The Guardian reported that the painting had been "saved" for Britain by Compton Verney Art Gallery for £300,000, with the help of grants from the National Heritage Memorial Fund and the Victoria and Albert Museum valued at £154,600 and £50,000 respectively.