Samuel Pepys

Samuel Pepys

by John Hayls
oil on canvas, 1666
29 3/4 in. x 24 3/4 in. (756 mm x 629 mm)
Purchased, 1866
Primary Collection
NPG 211

Sitter

Samuel Pepys (1633-1703), Diarist and naval administrator. Sitter associated with 11 portraits.

Artist

John Hayls (1600?-1679). Artist associated with 6 portraits, Sitter associated with 1 portrait.

This Portrait

In his diary, Pepys records on 17 March 1666: 'I sit to have it full of shadows and so almost break my neck looking over my shoulders to make the posture for him to work by'. There were more sittings on 20, 23, 28 and 30 March, when he sat 'till almost quite darke upon working my gowne which I hired to be drawne in; an Indian gowne'. Pepys paid Hayls £14 for the picture and 25s for the frame on 16 May, commenting that he was 'well satisfied' with it. The music he holds is his own setting of a lyric by Sir William Davenant, 'Beauty, retire'.

Related Works

NPG D18073: Diploma of membership of the Samuel Pepys Club for Sir Edmund Gosse (source portrait)

Linked Publications

Sound Guide
The National Portrait Gallery, 1997, p. 69
Cooper, John, Visitor's Guide, 2000, p. 39
Cooper, John, A Guide to the National Portrait Gallery, 2009, p. 23
Foskett, Daphne, Samuel Cooper, 1974 (accompanying the exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery from 15 March - 15 June 1974), p. 124
Ollard, Richard, Character Sketches: Samuel Pepys and His Circle, 2000, p. 4
Piper, David, The English Face, 1992, p. 104
Ribeiro, Aileen, The Gallery of Fashion, 2000, p. 12
Saumarez Smith, Charles, The National Portrait Gallery: an illustrated guide, 2000, p. 68
Saumarez Smith, Charles, The National Portrait Gallery, 1997, p. 69
Saywell, David; Simon, Jacob, Complete Illustrated Catalogue, 2004, p. 488
Simon, Jacob, The Art of the Picture Frame: Artists, Patrons and the Framing of Portraits in Britain, 1997 (accompanying the exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery from 8 November 1996 - 9 February 1997), p. 120