Oil on canvas, oval, 74cm x 61cm. Inscribed with the identity of the sitter and dated 1711.
Charles Bertie of Uffington was a member of the gentlemans’ drinking club at Burghley, known as the Little Bedlam Club.
The club was founded by John, 5th Earl of Exeter (1648-1700) and revived by his son, John, 6th Earl (1674-1721) in 1704.
Portraits of members of the club were painted with the inclusion of an animal avatar; Charles Bertie’s being a stag.
The portrait passed down through his family by inheritance, until it came up for sale in 2018 and returned to Burghley after three hundred years.
