Richard Hilliard

Richard Hilliard, the artist's father, was a leading goldsmith and citizen of Exeter in Devon. He is shown here at the age of 58 in the year 1577. He had taken a prominent role in the defence of the city in 1549 when it was threatened by rioters protesting against King Edward VI's introduction of a new Protestant Prayer Book. Under Edward, England was a safe haven for Protestant refugees from the European Continent. But in the reign that followed (1553-1558) - that of `Bloody Mary' (the ardent Roman Catholic Mary I) – numerous Protestants left England, and the young Hilliard was sent to Geneva. This miniature, along with Hilliard's own self portrait and that of his wife, Alice (both of which are also in the V&A) are the earliest surviving examples by an artist in England of such intimate portraits of himself and his family.