Henry Fitzroy, 1st Duke of Grafton

Sitterback to top

• Henry Fitzroy, 1st Duke of Grafton (1663-1690), Sailor and soldier; son of Charles II. Sitter associated with 14 portraits.

Artistback to top

• Sir Peter Lely (1618-1680), Portrait painter. Artist associated with 824 portraits, Sitter associated with 18 portraits.

This portraitback to top

Sir Peter Lely's commercial success with black and red chalk drawings encouraged other British artists to take up the medium. His influence can be seen in this sensitive example by an unknown follower. The sitter, Henry Fitzroy was the illegitimate son of Charles II and wears a costume loosely based on Roman dress. This sort of fancy dress was popular in portraits to depict sitters as heirs to Roman culture and military brilliance. This image depicts Fitzroy at the age of about fifteen, a few years after he became a duke.

Linked publicationsback to top

• Ingamells, John, Later Stuart Portraits 1685-1714, 2009, p. 106
• Piper, David, Catalogue of Seventeenth Century Portraits in the National Portrait Gallery, 1625-1714, 1963, p. 144
• Saywell, David; Simon, Jacob, Complete Illustrated Catalogue, 2004, p. 257

Linked displays and exhibitionsback to top

• The Art of Drawing: Portraits from the Collection, 1670-1780 (19 October 2012 - 19 May 2013)