First Previous 1 OF 9 NextLast

Unknown man, formerly known as Thomas Blood

1 of 9 portraits of Thomas Blood

© National Portrait Gallery, London

 Like voting
is closed

Thanks for Liking

Please Like other favourites!
If they inspire you please support our work.

Buy a print Buy a greetings card Make a donation

Unknown man, formerly known as Thomas Blood

attributed to Gilbert Soest
oil on canvas, 1670s
23 in. x 18 in. (584 mm x 457 mm)
Purchased, 1876
Primary Collection
NPG 418

Sitterback to top

  • Thomas Blood (1618?-1680), Adventurer; attempted to steal Crown jewels. Sitter associated with 9 portraits.

Artistback to top

  • Gilbert Soest (circa 1605-1681), Portrait painter. Artist or producer associated with 48 portraits, Sitter in 1 portrait.

Linked publicationsback to top

  • Piper, David, Catalogue of Seventeenth Century Portraits in the National Portrait Gallery, 1625-1714, 1963, p. 28
  • Saywell, David; Simon, Jacob, Complete Illustrated Catalogue, 2004, p. 690

Subjects & Themesback to top

Events of 1670back to top

Current affairs

Charles II mistress, Barbara Villiers, is created Duchess of Cleveland and granted Nonsuch Palace including its sizeable grounds.
Actress and royal mistress, Nell Gwyn, gives birth to Charles II's son, Charles, who would later become, Duke of St. Albans.

Art and science

Tragicomedy, The Forc'd Marriage, by Aphra Behn, staged by the Duke's Company, starts Behn's career as a professional writer. The writer may have been a royalist spy towards the end of the interregnum.
Poet laureate, John Dryden, is made historiographer royal, a post he would hold for nearly 20 years.

International

Terms of a secret treaty between Charles II and Louis XIV are brought by Henrietta, Duchess of Orleans during a visit to Dover; upon England supplying the majority of military power for a war against Holland and Charles's official conversion to Catholicism, France would assist financially.

Comments back to top

We are currently unable to accept new comments, but any past comments are available to read below.

If you need information from us, please use our Archive enquiry service . Please note that we cannot provide valuations. You can buy a print or greeting card of most illustrated portraits. Select the portrait of interest to you, then look out for a Buy a Print button. Prices start at around £6 for unframed prints, £16 for framed prints. If you wish to license an image, select the portrait of interest to you, then look out for a Use this image button, or contact our Rights and Images service. We digitise over 8,000 portraits a year and we cannot guarantee being able to digitise images that are not already scheduled.