Sir Walter Raleigh
1551 to 1600
Medium
engraving
Dimensions
sheet: 13.5 × 7.5 cm (5 5/16 × 2 15/16 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Rosenwald Collection
Accession Number
1951.11.371
Art Historical Context
This engraving of Sir Walter Raleigh captures the likeness of one of Elizabethan England’s most daring figures—an explorer, courtier, and writer who played a key role in early English colonization efforts in the Americas. Created between 1551 and 1600, the print reflects the growing demand for portable portraits of celebrated individuals during the Renaissance, allowing admirers to own images of notable personalities. The work was produced by Robert Vaughan after an original design by Simon de Passe, a skilled Dutch engraver active in England. Engraving, a precise intaglio technique involving...