Gower, George (1540c.-1596) - 1579 Self Portrait of George Gower (Private Collection)
Oil on panel; 56.4 x 49.6 cm
George Gower was an English portrait painter who became Serjeant Painter to Queen Elizabeth I in 1581. Little is known about his early life. His earliest documented works are the two 1573 companion portraits of Sir Thomas Kytson and his wife Lady Kytson, now in the Tate Gallery in London. As Sarjeant Painter to the Queen he was allowed to paint most of England’s aristocracy. The post also made him responsible for painted decoration at the royal residences, and on coaches and furniture. Among his works were a fountain (now destroyed) and the astronomical clock, both at Hampton Court Palace. He also inspected portraits of the Queen by other artists prior to their official release. Gower's best-known work is the version of the Armada Portrait of Elizabeth now at Woburn Abbey, painted to commemorate the 1588 defeat of the Spanish Armada. (A cut down version of this painting in the National Portrait Gallery (United Kingdom) is attributed to Gower; the "Drake" version is by a different hand.)
Gower, George (1540c.-1596) - 1579 Self Portrait of George Gower (Private Collection)
Oil on panel; 56.4 x 49.6 cm
George Gower was an English portrait painter who became Serjeant Painter to Queen Elizabeth I in 1581. Little is known about his early life. His earliest documented works are the two 1573 companion portraits of Sir Thomas Kytson and his wife Lady Kytson, now in the Tate Gallery in London. As Sarjeant Painter to the Queen he was allowed to paint most of England’s aristocracy. The post also made him responsible for painted decoration at the royal residences, and on coaches and furniture. Among his works were a fountain (now destroyed) and the astronomical clock, both at Hampton Court Palace. He also inspected portraits of the Queen by other artists prior to their official release. Gower's best-known work is the version of the Armada Portrait of Elizabeth now at Woburn Abbey, painted to commemorate the 1588 defeat of the Spanish Armada. (A cut down version of this painting in the National Portrait Gallery (United Kingdom) is attributed to Gower; the "Drake" version is by a different hand.)