Robert Harley (1661–1724), 1st Earl of Oxford

This 1711 portrait of Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford, depicts one of the most important politicians of Queen Anne's reign — a Speaker of the House of Commons, Secretary of State, and finally Lord Treasurer who negotiated the controversial Peace of Utrecht that ended the War of the Spanish Succession. Harley's political career embodied the complex party navigation of the late Stuart period: a moderate Tory who had worked with Whigs earlier in his career, he emerged as the leader of the ministry that replaced the Marlborough-Godolphin government in 1710. Kneller's portrait captures him at the height of his power as Lord Treasurer, managing the most consequential diplomatic negotiation of the reign.

The political portrait renders Harley with the authoritative bearing appropriate to his position as the Queen's chief minister, Kneller's experienced brush capturing both the weight of office and the sitter's shrewd intelligence.