Portrait of William Fitzwilliam

The portrait represents William Fitzwilliam of Milton and Gainspark, later 1st Baron Fitzwilliam of Lifford (c. 1570-1644). This is a rare surviving example of a late Elizabethan full-length portrait on oak panel, for by the end of the sixteenth century canvas had usurped wood as the support of choice for painters working on such a scale. The portrait can be dated on fashion to c. 1595 and depicts the youthful William Fitzwilliam, the fifth in line of eldest sons all called William, dressed in the most extravagant and expensive of costumes.