17TH/18TH CENTURY PORTRAIT OIL

Depicting a portrait of a young royal holding his toy spaniel, no signature evident, oil on canvas, 64.8 x 54.6cm (25 1/2 x 21 1/2in); housed in a quality 19th century frame, outside dimensions 87.6 x 77.5cm (34 1/2 x 30 1/2in); although unsigned, preliminary research shows this portrait may be of Prince William, Duke of Gloucester (1689-1700) at age 2 or 3 years; a mezzotint by John Smith titled "Boy with Dog", created in 1690 after a painting by Godfrey Kneller (German/British, 1646-1723) shows a very similar depiction of this work, leading experts to believe this may have been painted by and offered attributed to Kneller; condition is good commensurate with age, the figure is clear but the background of the landscape has darkened; the canvas shows craquelure and some paint loss to the lower portion; no tears or repairs visible, a fine early work with an interesting history