MICHAEL DAHL (1659-1743)Portrait of Catherine, Wife of William KerrOil on canvas, 125 x 102cm With hand written label verso 'Catherine, second daughter of Robert Dod, Born 1656, Died 1748, Married Commodore Wm Kerr'; and other printed label 'Mrs Coulthurst, Gargrave House, Gargrave, Skipton'Provenance: Sold Sotheby's, at Gargrave House, 1982, Lot 68 (Collection of Mrs JB Coulthurst O.B.E)This portrait was sold alongside its companion portrait depicting Commodore William Kerr (husband of Catherine) in Sotheby's prestigious two-day auction at Gargrave House in 1982. Kerr, a prominent naval officer during the 17th Century, was the son of the 1st Marquess of Lothian, Robert Kerr, a Scottish nobleman. The portrait of Commodore Kerr resides in the National Maritime Museum Collection, Greenwich, London.The sitter in this work, Catherine Kerr (née Dod) was the daughter and heiress of wealthy Shropshire family in Calverhall. While Dahl often captured his female subjects in a Classical setting leaning against a plinth, the composition of this portrait bares a particular close resemblance to that of Dorothy Mason, Lady Brownlow, held in the National Trust Collection at Belton House in Grantham, Lincolnshire.