Label
The gentleman before us wears the ceremonial dress of London’s Lord Mayor. Around his neck hangs a metalwork collar of Tudor roses and portcullises and an ornate medallion. His starched ruff and cuffs, and richly embroidered gloves mark him as a man of means and distinction. In the top left corner of the image is the coat of arms of the sitter.
For a century, this portrait has been known as Sir William Craven - Sixteenth Century Merchant Taylor and Lord Mayor of London. It is thought to have been painted around 1600 by a painter of the English School.
William Craven was sent to London at the age of 13 and gained freedom of the Merchant Taylors' Company in 1569 at the age of 19. He was Warden of the Company in 1593, and was a member of the Court in 1594. In later life, he had a stellar career in City government; in 1600 he was elected Alderman, in 1601 Sheriff of the City, and in July 1603 he was knighted by James I. In 1610 he was elected Lord Mayor of London.
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When restored in 2011, it was discovered that an earlier name of Sir Thomas Rowe had been over painted in the bottom right hand corner. In July 1895, the Company thought that this painting (long thought to be Sir Thomas Rowe due to this painted title) was in fact the long-lost portrait of Sir William Craven, untraced since 1693. It was decided “Sir Thomas Rowe” should be painted out, and “Sir William Craven” painted in. The coat of arms matches those of Sir William Craven and his wife (of the Whitmore family).
A fine portrait of Sir William Craven, painted by the circle of Marcus Gheeraerts the Elder, survives in Guildhall Art Gallery where Craven is again robed as Lord Mayor. This painting came directly from Craven's descendants in 1984 and actually appears to depict a different man. This further confuses the identity of the sitter in our painting, so perhaps the pre 1895 attribution to Sir Thomas Rowe was correct...The Guildhall portrait of Craven also has a coat of arms – which though similar to the ones in the Merchant Taylors painting, are not exactly the same, and cannot help us in confirming the identity of our sitter.
