Dobson at 400

The National Portrait Gallery in London is displaying four oil paintings by William Dobson in Room 6 to mark the 400th anniversary of his birth. Dobson was appointed King Charles I’s Principal Painter following the death of Sir Anthony van Dyck in 1641. At the outbreak of civil war he joined the king at Oxford and painted many leading Royalists. John Aubrey described him as ‘the most excellent painter that England hath yet bred’. This portrait shows Richard Neville (c.1643). Prints from the Archive by William Faithorne are also on show. The display runs until 18 March 2012, entry free (title link).