Nicholas Hilliard, ca. (1547-1619)

• Was an English goldsmith and limner.
• He is best known for his portrait miniatures of members of the courts of Elizabeth I and James I of England.
• He mostly painted small oval miniatures, but also some larger cabinet miniatures, up to about ten inches tall, and at least two famous half-length panel portraits of Elizabeth.
• He enjoyed continuing success as an artist, and continuing financial troubles, for forty-five years.
• By far the largest collection of his work is in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
• The National Portrait Gallery and British Museum in London have several others.
• The conditions in which miniatures have been kept ensure that many remain in excellent condition, and have avoided the attention of restorers, although fading of pigments, and oxidization of silver paint are common.
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