Samuel Cooper, Portrait of Oliver Cromwell, miniature, 10.4 x 8 cm (4⅛ x 3⅟2 “), signed and dated 1657. est: £100,000-150,000

LONDON, ENGLAND.- On Wednesday, June 6 2007, Sotheby’s will sell the definitive portrait of Oliver Cromwell – the Harcourt miniature - from which almost all later renditions of Cromwell derive and the image which has, to this day, defined our vision of this crucial figure in British history. A purposefully “warts and all” picture, the Harcourt miniature is just one of a small handful of lifetime portraits of Cromwell and of these, it is by far the finest, and most important, finished version. Estimated at £100,000-150,000, the miniature – which measures just 10.4 x 8 cm (4⅛ x 3⅟2 “) -ranks among the most valuable miniatures ever to have come to the market (the record for a miniature at auction is $1,216,000 – achieved in 2001 for a portrait of George Washington by John Ramage).  Lire la suite http://www.artdaily.com/section/news/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=20115