William Cecil (1520–1598), 1st Baron of Burghley

Image credit: Courtesy of the Warden and Scholars of New College/Bridgeman Images

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Notes

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The sitter was appointed by Elizabeth I as her Secretary of State in 1558. He was for the next 40 years the main architect of the policies of the Elizabethan era. The attribution of this portrait has been a matter of discussion, first thought to be Francis Bacon, then Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. For some time the object in his hands was thought to be part of the College's narwhal tusk that Dudley famously asked the Fellows to take away with him. However, the hat and staff of office indicate that it is Burghley as these appear in all other portraits of him at the time. Dudley's appearance was distinctive and appears not to resemble the image here.

New College, University of Oxford

Oxford

Title

William Cecil (1520–1598), 1st Baron of Burghley

Date

16th C

Medium

oil on panel

Measurements

H 57.5 x W 43 cm

Accession number

30

Acquisition method

purchased

Work type

Painting

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New College, University of Oxford

Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 3BN England

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