Oliver the First

Contemporary Images of Oliver Cromwell

Cover of Oliver the First

Out of print

Oliver the First
Contemporary Images of Oliver Cromwell
John Cooper

Celebrating the 400th anniversary of Oliver Cromwell's birth, this brief survey, the first of its kind in over 40 years, investigates the contemporary images of one of the most powerful figures in British history. It explores key areas of Cromwellian iconography in the form of painted portraits, coins, medals, seals, death masks and engravings, and discusses their significance as evidence of Cromwell's public role and its perception by his audience.

From oil paintings by acclaimed seventeeth-century artists such as Peter Lely and Robert Walker to works by Samuel Cooper and the medallist Thomas Simon, this book provides a fascinating insight into the political climate of the time and serves as an essential work of reference for both the general reader and the Cromwellian specialist.

210 x 148mm, 48 pages with 39 illustrations, 7 in colour, ISBN 1 85514 275 9, £4.50 (paperback)

More information

John Cooper was Head of Education at the National Portrait Gallery from 1981 to 2001. He has previously written, with Susan Morris, The Cromwell Family (1986).

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