# Peter Lely artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/peter-lely/
Profile generated: 2026-05-04T18:45:15.188Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1618-09-14
- Death date: 1680-11-30
- Nationality: Dutch, English (naturalised 1662)
- Movements: Baroque
- Common media: oil on canvas, drawing

## About Peter Lely

Sir Peter Lely (1618–1680), born Pieter van der Faes in Soest, Westphalia, was a Dutch-born painter who became the dominant portraitist at the English court during the turbulent decades of the Civil War, Commonwealth, and Restoration. Trained in the Dutch tradition, Lely settled in London by the early 1640s and succeeded Anthony van Dyck as the preeminent court painter. He served Charles I, Oliver Cromwell, and Charles II, an extraordinary span that testifies to his diplomatic skill as much as his artistic ability. His most celebrated series, the Windsor Beauties, depicts the leading women of the Restoration court. Lely was naturalised by Act of Parliament in 1662 and knighted by Charles II in 1680, the year of his death. His work is held by the Tate, the National Gallery, the Rijksmuseum, MoMA, and major collections worldwide.

## Common works and media

Lely is best known for oil-on-canvas court portraits, often three-quarter or full-length, depicting English royalty, aristocrats, and courtiers in richly dressed poses with landscape or draped backgrounds. He also produced allegorical and mythological scenes, and preparatory drawings in chalk and wash. Many works exist as multiple studio versions, and engravings after his compositions circulated widely, extending his visual influence across Europe.

## Market and appraisal context

Peter Lely has a substantial and actively traded auction market spanning over 25 years, with 146 recorded lots (84 with published prices) in the Appraisily database. Price dispersion is wide: the lower quartile sits at roughly $220, reflecting workshop attributions, follower copies, and d'après works; the median is near $900; and the upper quartile reaches approximately $3,800. The recorded maximum of $100,000 corresponds to fully autograph portraits of identifiable sitters at top-tier houses. Recent auction activity shows stable liquidity, with 13 lots in the trailing 12 months versus 11 in the prior period. Lely-specific lots appearing since 2023 confirm demand across multiple attribution tiers: a Sotheby's autograph "Portrait of a Lady in profile" achieved GBP 69,850 (Jul 2023); a Hampel attributed (zugeschrieben) work sold for EUR 9,000 (Jun 2023); a Dreweatts "and studio" portrait of Judith Pelham reached GBP 7,500 (Feb 2025); a DAMS bottega (workshop) portrait made EUR 4,400 (Apr 2024); and attributed lots at Bonino and Casa D'aste Guidoriccio traded in the EUR 1,700–2,900 range. Lower-tier d'après and follower works cluster below EUR 700. The market is distributed across international mid-tier houses (Bonino, Hampel, Dreweatts, Dogny, Osenat) with occasional appearances at Sotheby's, indicating that the strongest results depend on both attribution confidence and entry into a major Old Master sale.

## Auction-house-backed market evidence

Peter Lely has a substantial and actively traded auction market spanning over 25 years, with 146 recorded lots (84 with published prices) in the Appraisily database. Price dispersion is wide: the lower quartile sits at roughly $220, reflecting workshop attributions, follower copies, and d'après works; the median is near $900; and the upper quartile reaches approximately $3,800. The recorded maximum of $100,000 corresponds to fully autograph portraits of identifiable sitters at top-tier houses. Recent auction activity shows stable liquidity, with 13 lots in the trailing 12 months versus 11 in the prior period. Lely-specific lots appearing since 2023 confirm demand across multiple attribution tiers: a Sotheby's autograph "Portrait of a Lady in profile" achieved GBP 69,850 (Jul 2023); a Hampel attributed (zugeschrieben) work sold for EUR 9,000 (Jun 2023); a Dreweatts "and studio" portrait of Judith Pelham reached GBP 7,500 (Feb 2025); a DAMS bottega (workshop) portrait made EUR 4,400 (Apr 2024); and attributed lots at Bonino and Casa D'aste Guidoriccio traded in the EUR 1,700–2,900 range. Lower-tier d'après and follower works cluster below EUR 700. The market is distributed across international mid-tier houses (Bonino, Hampel, Dreweatts, Dogny, Osenat) with occasional appearances at Sotheby's, indicating that the strongest results depend on both attribution confidence and entry into a major Old Master sale.

### Appraisal notes

Appraisily uses these auction records as comparable-sale evidence alongside the details a collector provides: photographs (front, back, craquelure patterns), dimensions, medium confirmation (oil on canvas, drawing), signature or monogram presence and location, condition report (relining, overpaint, canvas cuts, flaking), provenance chain, and any edition or version notes. For Lely, the most critical appraisal variable is the attribution tier — autograph, workshop participation, follower, circle of, or d'après — which can shift the value estimate by an order of magnitude or more. The auction record set supports bracketing: a fully autograph portrait of a known royal or aristocratic sitter in good condition would reference upper-quartile to maximum comparables, while a workshop version or follower copy would reference the p25–median band. An appraiser would also consider the sitter's identity (named sitters command premiums), format (full-length versus three-quarter or bust), and exhibition or publication history.

### Valuation factors

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### Collector notes

- The Lely market is accessible across a wide price range. Collectors seeking an autograph work should budget toward the upper quartile (roughly $3,800+) and expect the strongest results at major Old Master sales (Sotheby's and comparable houses). Attribution is the single most important variable: always request a condition report and, for mid-tier and above, a specialist opinion distinguishing autograph paint handling from workshop execution. Many works are listed as "circle of," "attributed to," "and studio," or "bottega di" — these are legitimate entries into the Lely market but should be priced accordingly (typically p25-to-median range). The stable lot count year-over-year (11–13) suggests consistent, moderate liquidity rather than a surging or declining market. Works appearing at regional houses (Bonino, Hampel, Dreweatts) may offer value relative to top-tier estimates but warrant careful pre-sale due diligence on attribution.

### Market caveats

- The recent-lot sample includes several false-positive matches for the name "Peter" that are not Peter Lely works (e.g., Peter Henrietta Miller, Peter Orlando, Peter Shelton). Price statistics are drawn from the full Appraisily indexed set and may also contain non-Lely lots unless individually verified.
- With 84 priced lots out of 146 total, roughly 42% of recorded lots lack published realized prices, which means the median and quartile figures may underrepresent the upper end of the market where reserves are not met.
- The Lely workshop produced many versions and copies of popular compositions; distinguishing autograph works from studio productions requires specialist connoisseurship and cannot be determined from auction titles alone.
- Many portraits attributed to Lely have later been reattributed to his workshop or followers, so prior auction results under one attribution may not hold if the work is reassessed.
- Prices span multiple currencies (GBP, EUR, USD, CHF); the listed statistics have not been currency-normalized and reflect nominal hammer prices, which may not include buyer's premiums.

### Market evidence sources

- Appraisily auction record index: https://appraisily.com/api/scraper-search/artists/peter-lely/seo-profile?recentLimit=24&relatedLimit=0
- Invaluable / Bonino: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-peter-lely-1618-1680-ritratto-di-giovane-dal-giovane-in-armatura-di-anton-van-dyck-102-c-ec74c7ba89
- Invaluable / Casa D'aste Guidoriccio: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-peter-lely-attr-portrait-of-a-lady-138-c-d5146b5844
- Invaluable / Osenat: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-peter-lely-1618-1680-d-apres-portrait-d-olivier-cromwell-1599-1658-41-c-f51425c9cc
- Invaluable / Dreweatts 1759 Fine Sales: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-peter-lely-british-1618-1680-and-studio-portrait-of-judith-pelham-46-c-d914e0dbcb
- Invaluable / DAMS Casa d'Aste: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-peter-lely-bottega-di-1618-1680-ritratto-di-nobildonna-178-c-18f4e3d942
- Invaluable / Dogny Auction: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-peter-lely-1618-1680-atelier-de-portrait-de-vittoria-della-rovere-grande-duchesse-de-toscane-epouse-de-ferdinand-ii-de-medicis-278-c-d114352b26
- Invaluable / Hampel Fine Art Auctions: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-peter-lely-1618-soest-1680-london-zugeschrieben-413-c-7d64487a98
- Invaluable / Hampel Fine Art Auctions: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-peter-lely-1618-soest-1680-london-kreis-des-232-c-8c44a92b56
- Invaluable / Hermitage Fine Art: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-peter-lely-1618-1680-follower-of-lady-at-the-fountain-358-c-fcd4b87bfd

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine identity research from museum, library authority, and scholarly sources with auction-house records, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots. For Peter Lely, sources include the Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (RKD), the Library of Congress Name Authority File, VIAF, Tate, the Museum of Modern Art, and Wikidata, alongside Invaluable auction records.

## Sources

- RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/49235
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n85028378
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/47033545/
- Tate: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/sir-peter-lely-343
- The Museum of Modern Art: https://www.moma.org/artists/62187
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q161336
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Lely