Spring, 1641 (etching)

from a set of 4 female figures symbolising the four seasons; background shows a mansion with walled garden similar to 407355; this was identified in 2010 as Tart Hall, near St. James's Park; designed in the Palladian style by George Gage (c.1582-1638) for Aletheia Talbot, Countess of Arundel (c.1582-1654) wife of the Collector Earl and herself a noted collector and connoisseur; Tart Hall (demolished in 1726) housed her collection and was also the home of her and her husband's protege, Hollar; the muff in the open drawer is symbolic of the end of winter and the arrival of spring;