© V&A Picture Library
Samuel Cooper was widely recognised as the greatest miniature painter of the seventeenth century.
Though the Victoria and Albert Museum had a representative selection, it hitherto lacked an outstanding example showing his power as a painter of men. This miniature was painted when Cooper was at the height of his power and is among his greatest works.
Provenance
Richard Graham; James Sotheby; by descent to Lieutenant Nigel Sotheby; Sotheby's, 11/10/55