Sir Peter Lely (1618-1680), a German-born painter who worked in England, was the most famous baroque portrait painter at the court of Charles II.

Peter Lely was born on Oct. 14, 1618, at Soest in Westphalia; his family was Flemish. He was trained as an artist in Holland and was in England by 1647. This was not an auspicious time to launch a career as a portrait painter in England. The nation was involved in the civil wars, which ended in 1649 with the execution of Charles I and the accession to power of Oliver Cromwell, the army, and the Parliamentarians. But Lely secured the patronage of influential people, and between 1647 and 1660 he impartially painted royalist and Parliamentarian alike. Charles II became king in 1660, and the following year Lely was appointed Principal Painter to the King and granted a pension of £200 a year; from then on he was the most popular painter...