Sir Francis Drake
1 portrait of Sir Francis Drake
Sir Francis Drake
by Nicholas Hilliard
watercolour on vellum, 1581
1 1/8 in. (28 mm) diameter
Purchased with help from the Wolfson Foundation and H.M. Government, 1971
Click on the links below to find out more:
Sitterback to top
- Sir Francis Drake (1540-1596), Admiral and circumnavigator. Sitter associated with 36 portraits.
Artistback to top
- Nicholas Hilliard (1547-1619), Miniature painter. Artist associated with 34 portraits.
This portraitback to top
This miniature was produced in the year Drake was knighted by the Queen Elizabeth I.Red pigment used for the nose and cheeks give the sitter's flesh a pronounced ruddy tone.
Linked publicationsback to top
- Tudor Portraits Resource Pack, p. 30
- Charles Nicholl, Shakespeare and his Contemporaries, 2015, p. 32
- Gittings, Clare, The National Portrait Gallery Book of The Tudors, 2006, p. 23
- MacLeod, Catharine, Tudor Portraits in the National Portrait Gallery Collection, 1996, p. 30
- Nicholl, Charles, Insights: Shakespeare and His Contemporaries, 2005, p. 27
- Piper, David, The English Face, 1992, p. 57
- Saywell, David; Simon, Jacob, Complete Illustrated Catalogue, 2004, p. 186
- Schama, Simon, The Face of Britain: The Nation Through its Portraits, 2015-09-15, p. 256
- Various contributors, National Portrait Gallery: A Portrait of Britain, 2014, p. 53
- Walker, Richard, Miniatures: 300 Years of the English Miniature, 1998, p. 20
Linked displays and exhibitionsback to top
Events of 1581back to top
Current affairsSir Francis Drake is knighted on board his ship the Golden Hind.The heir to the French crown, François, Duke of Anjou comes to England to finalise marriage negotiations with Elizabeth I. He returns home unsuccessful the following year.Parliament passes legislation against Catholicism. The Jesuit missionary Edmund Campion is executed for treason.
Art and scienceThe mathematician Norman Robert publishes a pioneering study of magnetism The Newe AttractiveThe first ballet Ballet Comique de la Reine by Balthasar de Beaujoyeulx is performed in Paris.
InternationalThe Oath of Abjuration - the seven northern, Protestant provinces of the Netherlands formally renounce their allegiance to Philip II of Spain and become an independent republic, the United Provinces .Stephen Báthory of Poland invades Russia as part of the Livonian war.Akbar, Mughal Emperor of India, conquers Kabul (in present-day Afghanistan).Arjan Dev becomes the fifth of the ten Sikh Gurus.
Exhibitions and displays
- Framing the Face: Collars and Ruffs
Until 16 July