(1599 - 1658)
It has been suggested that portraitist Robert Walker trained in Italy and was an assistant to van Dyck. By 1637 he was working independently and in 1650 he became a member of the Painter-Stainer’s Company. Walker is known for his portraits of the great parliamentarians of the period, particularly Cromwell and his officers. He painted versions of Cromwell’s image, all based on sittings by Cromwell in 1649, until 1656. However, his other works include a self-portrait (Ashmolean Museum, Oxford) and portraits of ‘John Evelyn’ (on loan to the National Portrait Gallery) and ‘Colonel John Hutchinson and his son’ (private collection). Walker died in 1658, two years before the restoration of the monarchy. His estate passed to his daughter, Jane.
