The eldest son of Isaac Oliver, Peter trained in his father's studio but developed his own softer style. As a miniature painter, Peter was in demand both inside and outside royal circles of his day.

A selection of portraits from 1485 to 1603, many of which are on display at the Gallery or at Montacute House, our regional partner in Somerset. Portraits below are listed in chronological order.

Press tickets for temporary exhibitions can be arranged in advance by contacting the press office or requested on site at the welcome desk by presenting a valid press card. Please note that press ...

Lieutenant-General. Commander during the early stages of the Peninsular War, 1808, he was cut off from Portugal by the French and obliged to make a forced march to the coast at Corunna to embark his ...

The Reference Collection is held in the Heinz Archive and Library and contains more than 70,000 portraits of important and lesser known figures in British history. The majority of these portraits are ...

Matthew Noble, portrait sculptor, was born in Hackness near Scarborough, and was the son of a stonemason. As a young man he left Yorkshire for London and studied under John Francis. From 1845 until ...

Emmanuel Levy was born in Manchester and studied art at Manchester School of Art, St Martin's School of Art, London, and in Paris. During the 1930s his influences included Cubism, Expressionism and ...

Italian-born Belzoni moved to England in 1803 where he found work for a time as a strongman, actor and conjuror at fairs and theatres around the country. He travelled to Egypt having persuaded Mehmet ...

Gerrit van Honthorst was a Dutch painter from Utrecht. He travelled to Italy in 1616, where he copied the naturalism and eccentricities of Caravaggio. Honthorst spent four years painting in Rome after ...

As a child, Dr Crotch, the musician and composer, was known as 'the musical phenomenon of Norwich'. He began his professional career as organist of Christ Church, Oxford, at the age of fifteen, and ...

Alexander worked as both architect and engineer. As Surveyor to the London Dock Company, 1796-1831, he was responsible for the early development of the London Docks, and also designed lighthouses and ...

At sixteen, Campbell ran away from his home in Scotland and joined a ship heading for the West Indies. He joined the Army and by 1800 had become a brigade major on the island of St Vincent. The ...