LONDON.- A masterpiece by Sir Peter Lely, one of the most celebrated artists of Restoration Britain and Principal Painter to Charles II, will go back on display at Audley End House in Essex after a two-year conservation project by charity English Heritage to restore its luminosity. Long displayed at Audley End, an estate owned by Charles II when the portrait was created and now cared for by English Heritage, the painting has formed an important part of the house’s historic collection for over 200 years.

The 1673 masterpiece, entitled Portrait of the Artist with Hugh May and a Bust of Grinling Gibbons, is the definitive self-portrait of Sir Peter Lely and encapsulates the creative circle at the heart of Charles II’s court. Sir Peter Lely (standing), the architect Hugh May (seated), and the virtuoso woodcarver Grinling Gibbons (depicted through his sculpted likeness) were close friends and collaborators who helped define the artistic identity of the Restoration era. Their talents intersected most visibly at Windsor Castle, where each contributed to major royal commissions; the Castle itself appears in the painted backdrop.

The portrait is believed to have been painted for Hugh May (1621–1684), who was overseeing extensive rebuilding works at Windsor Castle between 1673 and 1677. During the same period, Lely, serving as Principal Painter to the King, was at work on the celebrated Windsor Beauties series and other royal commissions. Their professional partnership matured into a genuine friendship, powerfully affirmed in this composition.

Shortly afterwards, Hugh May returned to the Windsor estate to design a new residence for his nephew, the politician Thomas May, and his wife Anne Aldworth. Completed in 1684 - the year of Hugh May’s death - this building became known as Frogmore House. Family tradition holds that the portrait was bequeathed to May’s nephew and hung at Frogmore when the couple took up residence.

Peter Moore, English Heritage’s Curator of Audley End, explained: “This portrait was painted at the very moment Charles II was re-making Windsor Castle into a symbol of revived monarchy. At its centre we see Sir Peter Lely alongside his close friend, the architect Hugh May, while the great woodcarver Grinling Gibbons is represented through the finely carved portrait bust beside them. It’s no coincidence that Windsor Castle appears in the background: each of these men, in different ways, contributed to some of the most significant royal commissions undertaken there.

“And the painting itself has an intriguing royal history. It is believed to have hung at Frogmore House on the Windsor Estate, after May’s nephew, Thomas May, took up residence there in the 1780s. The house later passed through the Neville-Aldworth family, who would eventually settle at Audley End, before being sold to Queen Charlotte in 1792. In many ways, the portrait has travelled through the very orbit of the royal residence it depicts.”

The portrait was transferred to Audley End in the early nineteenth century when the Neville-Aldworth family inherited the estate - now under the care of English Heritage. The new conservation work, funded by the Friends of Audley End, has restored its luminosity and reaffirmed Lely’s achievement and skill.

The painting complements other significant connections to the Georgian monarchy in the Audley End collection, including a reading table presented to the family by Queen Charlotte in 1780, returned to Audley End on long-term loan in 2018, and a mounted Bird of Paradise gifted by Princess Augusta, mother of George III, during the family’s residence at Frogmore.

Audley End House and Gardens are open every day from now until 1 January 2026, and on weekends throughout January 2026.