Gerard van Soest, ca. (1605–1681)
• Was a Dutch portrait painter who was active in England.
• Soest was traditionally thought to have come from Soest in Westphalia, but was probably from Soest, Netherlands, being Dutch by birth and training.
• He seems to have been in England by the late 1640s, lived in London.
• His earliest known work is dated 1646.
• Soest received some criticism from women who felt that their portraits were not flattering enough.
• It is said that because of this, between 1660 and 1667 Soest refused to paint any women at all.
• He is most famous for his portraits of William Shakespeare and Samuel Butler.
