Probably Sir William Butts
4 of 7 portraits of Sir William Butts
© National Portrait Gallery, London
Probably Sir William Butts
by Wenceslaus Hollar, published by Adam Alexius Bierling, after Hans Holbein the Younger
etching, 1649
5 1/2 in. x 3 7/8 in. (141 mm x 98 mm) paper size
Purchased, 1893
Reference Collection
NPG D7976
Sitterback to top
- Sir William Butts (1485-1545), Physician and confidant of Henry VIII. Sitter associated with 7 portraits.
Artistsback to top
- Adam Alexius Bierling (active 1646). Artist or producer associated with 8 portraits.
- Hans Holbein the Younger (1497 or 1498-1543), Painter, printmaker and designer; son of Hans Holbein the Elder. Artist or producer associated with 310 portraits, Sitter associated with 25 portraits.
- Wenceslaus Hollar (1607-1677), Etcher. Artist or producer associated with 540 portraits, Sitter associated with 10 portraits.
Related worksback to top
- NPG D17892: Probably Sir William Butts (from same plate)
- NPG D24334: Probably Sir William Butts (from same plate)
- NPG D7975: Probably Sir William Butts (from same plate)
Events of 1649back to top
Current affairs
Charged with subverting the nation's laws and liberties and cruelly making war against Parliament and the English people, Charles I is found guilty by a court of 159 commissioners, and beheaded outside the Banqueting House, Whitehall.England is declared a commonwealth and power is entrusted to a Council of State.
Art and science
Eikon Basilike, a self-exonerating account of Charles I's rule, is published days after his death. Allegedly written by the king himself, John Gauden, Bishop of Worcester, claimed authorship after the Restoration. Other tributes followed the king's death giving rise to a royalist cult of Charles the Martyr.International
Oliver Cromwell, as lord lieutenant of Ireland, begins his campaign in Ireland to subdue royalist support, and leads English Parliamentarian forces against the Royalist-Confederate coalition. The campaign's bloody massacres, in particular, the Siege of Drogheda and Wexford where Cromwell's troops slaughtered soldiers and civilians alike, became notorious.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.
Related pages
- Tints, texture and original intent, in four after-Holbein portraits
- Handlist of names in the Reference Collection
- Tudor Miniatures
- Technique and effects of the after-Holbein copyists
- Holbein and his copyists
- The contexts for the production and demand for painted versions and copies in the sixteenth and early seventeenth century
- Pictured and seen
- Director's Trail by Nicholas Cullinan
- Loans to the National Gallery
- Adopt-a-Portrait
- Daily highlights tours
- LGBTQ+ History Month highlights tour
- LGBTQ+ highlights tour
- Trailblazers Black history tour