about 1594-1647Peter Oliver
Eldest son of Issac Oliver, Peter Oliver grew up in his father’s studio from an early age. As Issac Oliver worked extensively for James I’s court, it is likely that Peter also worked on copies of his father’s pieces. Both father and son often left their work unsigned, which has obstructed their identification. Oliver’s earlier work was close in style to that of his father and, like his contemporaries, he painted on vellum. His most original portraiture dates from around 1620. This is much more life-like, offering a stronger sense of the sitter’s character. He privileged blue, grey, violet and brown backgrounds, occasionally including a red curtain. His monogram, like that of his father, has the letters ‘PO’ surrounded by four dots, although he occasionally signed his works more fully. Little is known about his personal life. He married more than once and left no descendants. Favoured by Charles I, Oliver died two years before his patron’s execution. His work for the King included commissions to copy important oil paintings in both large and small formats; the latter would often accompany the monarch on his travels. Many of these works were lost following the dispersal of the royal collection after the Civil War. After the Restoration, Charles II sought to recover part of the collection. He granted Oliver’s widow a pension of £300 a year in exchange for many of the miniatures she possessed, including copies of paintings Oliver had executed for Charles I. When Charles II then gifted some of these to his mistresses, Anne protested their ill fate, and, as result, lost her pension.