William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare (1564-1616), Dramatist and poet.

This is the only portrait of Shakespeare that has a good claim to have been painted from life, and may be by a painter called John Taylor who was an important member of the Painter-Stainers' Company. The portrait is known as the 'Chandos portrait', after a previous owner, and was the first portrait to be acquired by the National Portrait Gallery, when it was founded in 1856.