5 OF 30

Nell Gwyn (Margaret Lemon with the head altered to Nell Gwyn)

5 of 30 portraits of Nell Gwyn

by Richard Gaywood, after Sir Anthony van Dyck, and head after Gerard Valck, after Sir Peter Lely
etching and line engraving, circa 1662; head late 17th century
11 3/8 in. x 9 1/2 in. (290 mm x 240 mm) paper size
Purchased with help from the Whitin Fund, 1955
Reference Collection
NPG D47402

Sittersback to top

Eleanor ('Nell') Gwyn (1651?-1687), Actress; mistress of Charles II. Sitter associated with 30 portraits.
Margaret Lemon (born circa 1614), Artists model and mistress of Sir Anthony van Dyck. Sitter in 8 portraits.

Artistsback to top

Richard Gaywood (active 1644-1668), Artist. Artist associated with 101 portraits.
Sir Peter Lely (1618-1680), Portrait painter. Artist associated with 843 portraits, Sitter in 19 portraits.
Gerard Valck (1651 or 1652-1726), Engraver. Artist associated with 33 portraits.
Sir Anthony van Dyck (1599-1641), Painter. Artist associated with 1023 portraits, Sitter associated with 30 portraits.

Subject/Themeback to top

Flowers and plants

Events of 1662back to top

Current affairs

Marriage of Catherine of Braganza to Charles II. A spectacular pageant on the Thames greets Catherine as she arrives at Whitehall Palace.
Act of Uniformity, lays down requirements for the clergy to remain in the Church of England, forcing hundreds to be ejected from their livings.

Art and science

Physicist Robert Boyle publishes A Defence of the Doctrine, Touching the Spring and Weight of the Air, which contains the first formulation of Boyle's Law, describing the relationship between pressure and volume of gases.

International

Upon restoration of the monarchy, pro-royalist and Catholic Irish landlords, notably James Butler, Duke of Ormonde, appeal to the king to restore their lands confiscated during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland. However, political wrangling and insufficient land renders the subsequent Act of Settlement, passed by the Irish Parliament, unworkable.

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