Portraits
and
Miniatures
About the
Collection
From full-scale portraits to tiny portable miniatures, explore how artists have grappled with the ideas of identity, fashion and celebrity through our portraits collection.
Including portraits of some of the most important figures in British history from King Henry VIII and his children Edward VI and Elizabeth I, to the Persian ambassador Mirza Abu’l Hassan Khan, who negotiated an alliance with George III.
In each case, the clothing worn by the sitters helps to convey their identity: from the rich green velvet skirts of the two-year-old boy in Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger’s touching portrait, to the lace shawl of Lady Fawkener, delicately rendered in pastel by French artist Jean-Etienne Liotard.
One of the largest paintings in our collection is Joshua Reynolds’ life-size portrait of the renowned beauty Mrs Baldwin, who wears a turban and a green and gold kaftan. The smallest is Samuel Cooper’s celebrated miniature of Oliver Cromwell in armour. Painted in 1657, four years after he had created himself Lord Protector of the English Commonwealth, Cromwell reportedly urged Cooper to capture him ‘warts & all’.
Discover more
Download our gallery guide to find out more the Portraits & Miniatures collection
and the artworks on display in our galleries
Edward, Prince of Wales, later Edward VI
Frances Howard, Duchess of Richmond and Lennox (1578–1639)
Sir Thomas Knyvett
