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Henry Bennet, 1st Earl of Arlington

1 of 19 portraits of Henry Bennet, 1st Earl of Arlington

© National Portrait Gallery, London

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Henry Bennet, 1st Earl of Arlington

after Sir Peter Lely
oil on canvas, based on a work of circa 1665-1670
47 3/4 in. x 37 3/4 in. (1213 mm x 959 mm)
Purchased, 1919
Primary Collection
NPG 1853

Sitterback to top

Artistback to top

  • Sir Peter Lely (1618-1680), Portrait painter. Artist or producer associated with 843 portraits, Sitter in 19 portraits.

This portraitback to top

The black patch on Arlington's nose covers a scar from a wound received in the Civil War.

Linked publicationsback to top

  • Smartify image discovery app
  • Bird, Rufus ; Clayton, Martin, Charles II: art & power, 2017, p. 214 number 47
  • Piper, David, Catalogue of Seventeenth Century Portraits in the National Portrait Gallery, 1625-1714, 1963, p. 13
  • Saywell, David; Simon, Jacob, Complete Illustrated Catalogue, 2004, p. 17

Events of 1665back to top

Current affairs

Great Plague initially breaks out in the deprived parish of St. Giles-in-the-Fields killing thousands. Humphrey Henchman, Bishop of London, takes a leading role in organising collections of money for the poor.
Five Mile Act forbids ejected clergymen from living within five miles of a parish they formerly served.

Art and science

A New Discourse of Trade, written by Sir Josiah Child, outspokenly advocates for the advantages of free trade.
The first issue of the Royal Society's scientific journal, Philosophical Transactions, is edited by Henry Oldenburg, the Society's Secretary.

International

Second Anglo-Dutch War. Despite England's resounding victory at the first naval encounter, the Battle of Lowestoft, failure to seize the valuable Dutch East Indies fleet by Admiral Edward Montagu, Earl of Sandwich, and subsequent Dutch victory at the battle at Vågen, were considerable setbacks for the English.

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Tony Knight

27 May 2016, 08:17

Ref Lord Arlington's apparel, in the unlikely event that you are unaware... Henry B. Wheatley’s notes for the 1893 edition of Pepys, who wrote of this new fashion ‘The King hath yesterday in Council declared his resolution of setting a fashion for clothes, which he will never alter. It will be a vest, I know not well how; but it is to teach the nobility thrift, and will do good.’): There are several references to this new fashion of dress introduced by the king, Pepys saw the Duke of York put on the vest on the [13th September 1996], and he says Charles II. himself put it on on the 15th. On November 4th Pepys dressed himself in the new vest and coat. Evelyn describes the new fashion as “a comely dress after ye Persian mode” Rugge, in his Diurnal thus describes the new Court costume “In this month His Majestie and whole Court changed the fashion of their clothes, viz. a close coat of cloth, pinkt with a white taffety under the cutts. This in length reached the calf of the leg, and upon that a sercoat cutt at the breast, which hung loose and shorter than the vest six inches.” Evelyn reports, October 18th, 1666,that when the king expressed his intention never to alter this fashion, “divers courtiers and gentlemen gave his Majesty gold by way of wager that he would not persist in this resolution”