$6,000
Estimate: $4,000 - $6,000
The Collection of Amb. & Mrs. Alexander Weddell - The Virginia House Museum
Auction: April 10, 2019 11:00:00 AM EDT
Inscribed with sitter's name verso, oil on canvas.
21 5/8 x 18 3/4 in. (54.9 x 47.6cm)Provenance: Supposedly acquired at the Talbot Art Gallery, London, United Kingdom, 1930.
The Collection of Ambassador and Mrs. Alexander Weddell, Richmond, Virginia.
Deaccessioned by The Virginia House Museum to benefit future preservation, acquisitions, and care of collections.
Sir Francis Drake (1540-1596) was born near the Devonshire village of Tavistock around 1540 to a poor family of yeoman stock. Through an acquaintance with a family of influential shipping merchants, Drake learned to be an exceptional man of the sea. He owned his first vessel by the age of 20, and soon gained wider maritime experience on a slaving trip to Guinea, followed by a mission to the West Indies in 1566, when he was given command of a ship in Captain John Hawkin's fleet. A key element to England's naval successes and riches, Drake won unofficial approbation among his troops, and a certain reputation for courage and daring (he was nicknamed "The Dragon" by the Spanish, who saw him as a pirate). In 1580, Drake became the second man after Ferdinand Magellan to ever voyage around the world, and the first Englishman to do so. In recognition of his remarkable achievement, Queen Elizabeth I knighted him aboard his ship the Pelican (later renamed the Golden Hint) on April 4, 1581. In the ensuing war with Spain, Drake became an incredible asset, capturing Santo Domingo and Cartagena, and later destroying the Spanish fort at Saint Augustine. In 1588, the year after his fleet inflicted heavy damage at Cadiz, Drake famously served as Vice Admiral to Lord Howard of Effingham's fleet, who destroyed the Spanish Armada in the English Channel. His subsequent voyages were largely unsuccessful, and he died on January 28, 1596 in the course of yet another expedition against the Spanish West Indies. On his death, his considerable estate was passed to his youngest and only surviving brother, Thomas Drake, the companion of most of his voyages.
The present portrait of Sir Francis Drake is a reduced version of a type associated with Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger (1561-1636), now in the National Maritime Museum. Drake is shown here according to his 17th century likeness: light-colored eyes, dark hair, fair moustache and pointed beard, as well as the famous wart located on the left-hand side of his nose, and which appears in many lifetime images of the hero. He wears a black doublet with a white ruff, as well as a large jeweled medallion around his neck, whose top half is only visible. The National Maritime Museum's version of the portrait of Sir Francis Drake shows him in full-length, surrounded by his coat of arms and a globe before him. Another version showing Drake with the sash and pendant medallion was for a long time in the Drake family. It was later included in a miniature by Henry Bone (1755-1834) and a print by William Holl the Elder (1771-1838).