Paul Sinebrychoff purchased this painting from Bukowski in the spring of 1904 as a work by Michael Dahl. It is not surprising that the painting was attributed in Sweden to Dahl, who followed the Dyckian tradition of portraiture in England, inheriting from Lely his elegant compositions and cast of figures.
In the summary catalogue of 1936, the painting was registered as a replica of the portrait of the Countess of Northumberland painted by Lely around 1670. A number of replicas of this particular painting exist, as do replicas of many of Lely's portraits. The version in Montagu House is considered to be the original.
In 1662, Elizabeth Wriothesley, a daughter of the Earl of Southampton, married Jocelyn Percy, the 11th Earl of Northumberland. He owned vast estates that had been in the family since the Middle Ages. The Percys were Lely's important patrons, Lord Northumberland's father was one of the first Englishmen to have commissioned his paintings. The newlyweds were blessed with two children. Their son died at an early age, but their daughter Elizabeth, named after her mother, became a famous and eligible heiress in 1670 after her father's death. Elizabeth Wriothesley, however, did not remain a dowager for long and in 1671, she married the Earl of Montagu, a future duke.
Sir Peter Lely Elizabeth Wriothesley, Countess of Northumberland