Portrait of a Lady in a Green Dress

This is a variant of Lely's earliest portrait of Princess Mary (1662 - 1694), who married William of Orange and became Queen Mary II of England. The original version is likely to be the work referred to in an undated letter from the Princess to her friend, Frances Apsley, Lady Bathurst, which historians date to around 1672 when the sitter was only ten years of age. The poor condition of the paint surface and its quality suggests this is a a studio copy. This portrait is smaller than the original in which the subject wore a pale blue dress. This could be identified as the bust-length copy of the Princess of Orange which was included in Lely's posthumous sale.