Sir Edward Nicholas (1593-1669) Secretary of State

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  • About the work
    Location
    Country: UK
    City: London
    Place: Government Art Collection
  • About the artist
    Adriaen Hanneman was born to a family of Catholic government officials in The Hague. He studied under Anthony van Ravesteyn before moving to London in c.1626, where he probably worked in the studio of Sir Anthony van Dyck. Hanneman returned to The Hague in the late 1630s, shortly before the outbreak of the English Civil War. He became a member of the painters’ guild and a dean of the guild in 1645. Many of those who sat for portraits from Hanneman were English Royalists in exile in the Netherlands, including Charles II (when Prince of Wales), Edward Hyde and Henry, Duke of Gloucester. During the 1650s, Hanneman received patronage from the Dutch court, painting portraits of William of Orange and Mary, Princess of Orange.
    George Vertue was born in the parish of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, London. His parents served in the court of James II and his father may have later become a tailor. He was first apprenticed to a silver engraver and later to Flemish engraver Michael Vandergucht. His early work includes plates after Kneller, whose academy he attended from 1711. Vertue served as official engraver to the Society of Antiquaries (1717-56). In the 1720s he concentrated on portrait frontispieces, producing over 120 in total. From 1727 he was engraver to Oxford University. Vertue was also a publisher and ran a print shop near Drury Lane. In 1712 he began gathering information for a publication on the history of art in Britain, which remained unfinished at his death.
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  • Details
    Title
    Sir Edward Nicholas (1593-1669) Secretary of State
    Date
    Medium
    Engraving
    Acquisition
    Purchased 1992
    GAC number
    15924