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DS1993-0470
Portrait of Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658)
DS1993-0470

Portrait of Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658)

DateProbably 1653-1658
Artist Sir Peter Lely (1618-1680)
After work by Samuel Cooper (1608 - 1672)
OriginEngland, London
MediumOil on canvas, framed
DimensionsUnframed: 30 1/8 x 25 1/2in. (76.5 x 64.8cm) and Framed: 34 7/8 x 30in.
Credit LineAcquisition partially funded by an anonymous donor
Object number1993-54,A&B
DescriptionA bust-length portrait of a man with head and eyes turned 3/4 towards the viewer's right, the whole within a faux oval window. The subject wears armor with a large, plain white shirt collar over the neck plate. The subject has brown shoulder-length hair worn loose, parted down the middle, blue eyes, and a weathered complexion. His face is distinguished by two warts, one below the bottom lip, and one above the proper right eyebrow. The background is a plain brown. The bottom curve of the faux window bears an inscription.

The 2 7/8-inch frame, possibly original, is gilded and carved with lamb's tongue and egg and dart moldings.
Label TextWhen difficulties between King Charles I and Parliament erupted into war, Oliver Cromwell entered the fray on the side of the Parliamentarians. He quickly rose from command of a single cavalry troop to control of the entire army. Ultimately victorious, Cromwell signed Charles’s death warrant, which terminated England’s monarchy. In 1653, Cromwell assumed the title Lord Protector of the Realm.

Demand for likenesses of Cromwell increased dramatically once he was named Lord Protector. Sir Peter Lely’s portrait, one of four known copies, is adapted from a miniature by Samuel Cooper.

What’s the Connection?
As a royal colony, Virginia remained loyal to the crown during the English Civil Wars, proclaiming Charles II as the new king soon after the execution of his father. Under Cromwell, Virginia was ruled directly by the English government until 1660 and restoration of the monarchy.
















InscribedThe faux oval window below the likeness is inscribed in yellow paint, "OLIVER CROMWELL.Ptor", with "PLely.fe" [the "P" and "L" are combined in a monogram] positioned on the "strap" between the subject's first and last names.
ProvenanceThe portrait was first owned by Sir John Danvers, Regicide and Judge at the Trial of King Charles I, thence to his niece Eleanor Danvers (d.1677), wife of Sir John Osborne 1st Bt. (d.1689). The portrait descended in the Osborne family until acquired at auction by Colonial Williamsburg.