JONATHAN RICHARDSON (attr. to) (London, 1666 - 1745) Portrait of Henry Saint-John Bolingbroke (second label on frame) Oil on canvas, 127X102 cm Bolingbroke's brilliant career as Tory Secretary of State ended with the accession of George I to the throne in 1715. Shortly afterwards, he fled to France, escaping prosecution for his alleged intrigues against the succession of Hanover. In France, Bolingbroke joined King James in exile as his Secretary of State, but was later removed for his reluctant support of the Jacobite revolt in Scotland. Returning to England with a pardon in 1726, Bolingbroke began a fierce periodical press campaign against the Whig government and its policies. Given his notoriety, it is not surprising that he commissioned his portrait from Jonathan Richardson, who was one of the leading London portrait painters of the time.