Portrait of a Member of the Howard Family of Ashtead

Kneller's Portrait of a Member of the Howard Family of Ashtead, from around 1700, connects to one of England's most distinguished Catholic aristocratic families — the Howards were dukes of Norfolk and hereditary Earl Marshals of England. Ashtead in Surrey was a Howard family seat, and a portrait of a Howard family member by Kneller at the turn of the century would reflect both the family's continuing high status and Kneller's position as the inevitable choice for prominent English portraiture. The sitter's identity remains imprecise, as the Howards were a large family.

The portrait follows Kneller's established format for gentry and aristocratic male sitters, with appropriate dress and dignified bearing. His direct, unidealized approach to the face within a competently rendered but somewhat formulaic drapery arrangement is characteristic of his extensive portrait production.