Barbara Villiers, later Duchess of Cleveland (1640-1709)

Among Peter Lely’s most celebrated works was a series of ten portraits of fashionable women from the royal court known as the “Windsor Beauties.” Included in this series was Barbara Villiers, arguably the most influential woman in Britain at the time. She used her beauty to gain wealth and considerable political power, receiving from the king a generous pension, land grants, and aristocratic titles. Lely’s portrait of Villiers helped establish his reputation as well as her image as the preeminent court beauty.