| 1822 |
Hamilton |
Collection of the Dukes of Hamilton in Hamilton Palace |
| 1823 |
London |
William Beckford Collection in Fonthill |
| Before 1922 |
London |
Collection of Angela Burdett-Coutts in Highgate, London |
| May 4 1922 |
London |
Sale, Christie's, Lot #86 (as part of a pair with "Allegory on Water," see Ertz 2008-10, Cat. #498) |
| Jul 7 1993 |
London |
Sale, Sotheby's, London, Lot #23 and 24 (as part of a pair with "Allegory of Water") |
| 1993 |
New York, NY |
Private Collection |
| Jul 8 1999 |
London |
Sale, Sotheby's, Lot #53 (as part of a pair with "Allegory of Water" for GBP 800,000 |
Ertz (2008-10) speculates that this painting of ''Allegory of Air'' is part of a series of the elements which Jan Brueghel painted between 1601-1611. See Also:
The backside of the painting contains the inv. #286, from the Angela Burdett-Coutts collection.
The copper plate is also marked with the brand of Pieter Stas.
There is just one copy of this particular version of Air (and not the rest of the series, only Air). It is cataloged as ERtz, Jan Brueghel the Younger, cat. #200. I would accept that attribution, it makes sense: the copy is good enough to be by a decent painter, too independent to be a workshop copy but dependent enough to be the product of somebody without their own imagination. Ertz also suggests a date of ca.1628 for the copy based on Jan the Younger's diary which is perfectly possible as well.
For further information see the Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie website on this painting