Sir Peter Lely (Pieter van der Faes) (1618-1680)

• Was a painter of Dutch origin.
• His career was nearly all spent in England, he became there the dominant portrait painter to the court.
• Lely was born Pieter van der Faes to Dutch parents in Soest in Westphalia.
• Lely studied painting in Haarlem, where he may have been apprenticed to Pieter de Grebber.
• He became a master of the Guild of Saint Luke in Haarlem in 1637.
• He arrived in London in around 1643.
• His early English paintings were mainly mythological or religious scenes, or portraits set in a pastoral landscape.
• Lely's portraits were well received, and he succeeded Anthony van Dyck (who had died in 1641) as the most fashionable portrait artist in England.
• He became a freeman of the Painter-Stainers' Company in 1647 and was portrait artist to Charles I.
• His talent ensured that his career was not interrupted by Charles's execution, and he served Oliver Cromwell, whom he painted "warts and all", and Richard Cromwell.
• In the years around 1650 the poet Sir Richard Lovelace wrote two poems about Lely – Peinture and "See what a clouded majesty ..."
• After the English Restoration in 1660, Lely was appointed as Charles II's Principal Painter in Ordinary in 1661, with a stipend of £200 per year.
• Lely became a naturalised English subject in 1662.
• Demand was high, and Lely and his large workshop were prolific.
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