Flagmen of Lowestoft
Videos
Page
The Flagmen of Lowestoft are a collection of thirteen paintings by Sir Peter Lely, painted in the mid-1660s. They were originally part of the Royal Collections, though most were given to Greenwich Hospital in the nineteenth century, and are now in the National Maritime Museum in London. The paintings are of prominent naval officers, most of them of flag rank, who had fought at the Battle of Lowestoft in 1665. Lely at the time was Principal Painter to King Charles II.
Portrait of George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle by Sir Peter Lely, a typical example of the Flagmen series
James, Duke of York, in a 1672–1673 portrait by Sir Peter Lely (though not one of the series). James commissioned the series 'to hang in his chamber' (Pepys).
Image: Flagmen of Lowestoft George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle by Sir Peter Lely
Image: Sir Thomas Allin
Peter Lely
Videos
Page
Sir Peter Lely was a painter of Dutch origin whose career was nearly all spent in England, where he became the dominant portrait painter to the court. He became a naturalised British subject and was knighted in 1679.
Self-portrait, oil on canvas, c. 1660
Peter Lely – Edward Montagu, 1st Earl of Sandwich
Long-time mistress of Charles II of England, Nell Gwynne as Venus, with her son, Charles Beauclerk, as Cupid.
Nymphs by a Fountain, an atypical mythological work