Ashmolean acquires Dobson portrait
May 16 2017
Picture: Oxford Times
The Ashmolean Museum in Oxford has acquired the above sensational portrait by William Dobson. It has been allocated to the museum through the UK government's Acceptance in Lieu tax scheme. An additional grant of £90k has been provided by the Heritage Lottery Fund to help promote the painting. The painting was:
commissioned by John Russell in the winter of 1645–6, [and] is a unique artefact of the English Civil War. It shows a meeting between three Royalist commanders who were then based in Oxford, home to the royal court in exile. The group in the painting are Prince Rupert (the King’s nephew), Colonel William Legge (Governor of Oxford) and Colonel John Russell (commander of the prince’s elite Blue Coats).
You can read more about the picture here. The unveiling was done by a characted playing Elias Ashmole (below), to celebrate the fact that this year is his 400th birthday.
