John Taylor (attributed)
The Chandos Portrait
c. 1610
The 'Chandos Portrait' (c. 1600–1610), attributed to the English painter John Taylor, is the only surviving likeness of William Shakespeare (1564–1616) that scholars generally accept as having been painted from life. Depicting the playwright with an actor's gold earring and a suggestive half-smile, it was the very first acquisition of London's National Portrait Gallery in 1856 and remains the foundational object of Britain's national portrait collection.
Exhibition Venue
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