The eldest son of Isaac Oliver, Peter trained in his father's studio but developed his own softer style. As a miniature painter, Peter was in demand both inside and outside royal circles of his day.

A selection of portraits from 1485 to 1603, many of which are on display at the Gallery or at Montacute House, our regional partner in Somerset. Portraits below are listed in chronological order.

Press tickets for temporary exhibitions can be arranged in advance by contacting the press office or requested on site at the welcome desk by presenting a valid press card. Please note that press ...

Emmanuel Levy was born in Manchester and studied art at Manchester School of Art, St Martin's School of Art, London, and in Paris. During the 1930s his influences included Cubism, Expressionism and ...

Ann Zingha also known as Queen Nzinga Mbande, was a 17th century African ruler of the Ndongo and Matamba Kingdoms of the Mbundo people in Angola. She fought for the freedom and recognition of her ...

Italian-born Belzoni moved to England in 1803 where he found work for a time as a strongman, actor and conjuror at fairs and theatres around the country. He travelled to Egypt having persuaded Mehmet ...

Gerrit van Honthorst was a Dutch painter from Utrecht. He travelled to Italy in 1616, where he copied the naturalism and eccentricities of Caravaggio. Honthorst spent four years painting in Rome after ...

As a child, Dr Crotch, the musician and composer, was known as 'the musical phenomenon of Norwich'. He began his professional career as organist of Christ Church, Oxford, at the age of fifteen, and ...

This portrait was painted in Paris during a period of crisis in Joyce’s life, when his daughter Lucia was experiencing debilitating mental illness. He was struggling with his last novel, Finnegans ...

Southall's main body of work comprises highly crafted paintings of mythological and romantic subjects, though he was also an outstanding portrait and landscape artist. A visit to Italy in 1883 proved ...

Born between 1003 and 1005, the son of King Ethelred II the Unready and Emma, daughter of Richard II of Normandy, he became King in 1043. For the first eleven years of his reign the real ruler of ...

Eleanor of Castile was the first queen consort of King Edward I. She was the daughter of King Ferdinand III of Castile and his wife, Joan of Ponthieu. In 1254 Eleanor was married to Lord Edward, son ...