Flagmen of Lowestoft: Admiral Sir William Penn (1621-70).

Admiral Sir William Penn.

Repro ID: BHC2946

Description: A three-quarter-length portrait to left of Admiral Sir William Penn in a black coat. His sword hangs from a heavy gold baldric, and he holds a baton in his right hand. With his left hand, he gestures towards the stern of a ship at sea, and he stands in front of a stone wall on the right. In the First Dutch War, Penn commanded squadrons at the Battles of Kentish Knock, Portland, the Gabbard and Scheveningen, and he received the gold medal and chain from Parliament. He was dispatched to fetch the king from Holland with Sandwich in the 'Naseby', 86 guns, and was made a Commissioner of the Admiralty. As captain of the fleet at the Battle of Lowestoft in 1665, he was in the flagship of the 'Duke of York' where his experience and advice did much to ensure the victory. The portrait is one of the 'flagmen' portraits seen by Pepys on 18 April 1666 in Lely's studio. It was listed as 'to be done', and was commissioned following the Battle of Lowestoft, the first fleet action of the Second Dutch War. At the Restoration, Lely was appointed Principal Painter to Charles II. The portrait was presented by George IV to Greenwich Hospital in 1824.

Creator: Sir Peter Lely

Date: 1665-66

Credit line: National Maritime Museum, London, Greenwich Hospital Collection